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We Felicity Seekers always try to improve ourselves. We try to develop habits, mindsets, and abilities that will get us further in life.
To figure out what it is we need to incorporate into our lives we look up to the most successful people in every area of life.
There are many things we learn from them. But probably the most crucial ability we see successful people have, whether it is in sports, business, politics or science, is self-discipline.
And it makes sense. Without self-discipline you won´t get far in life because there will always be things you don´t feel like doing but have to do.
Self-control also plays an essential part in my life.
It allows me to skip many of my lectures and work more efficiently from home.
I never saw this as something complicated. However, almost all of the classmates with whom I talked about it replied that they would also study from home if they could motivate themselves and would actually do the work necessary.
Another part of my life where discipline is needed is this Blog.
Although I thoroughly enjoy creating valuable content, I definitely have days that I would rather chill the evening after dealing with Law all day long. Using my willpower, I keep pushing through.
Surprisingly enough, self-control is an ability many people lack nowadays. Citizens of the developed countries are so used to everything being easy and quick that many of us forget what it means to be disciplined.
The good news is that self-discipline can be learned. To do just that, I compiled 9 proven ways on how to develop willpower.
Once you learn to cultivate self-discipline, you will have a huge competitive advantage in every area of your life! Furthermore, you will be one step closer to creating the life you always desired.
1. Be clear about your why
The first step to master self-discipline is to get clear about what your intentions are. Why do you want to do that task?
You are probably putting in that long studying hours because you want to graduate with good grades, so that you can get a job that will pay well, so that you can live a comfortable and happy life.
Once you remember your “Why”, it will be easier to get things done.
Maybe you even find out that your “Why” isn´t worth fighting for. In that case, you either need to find a stronger “why” or you should consider if you want to continue doing what you do.
2. Figure out your Patterns
When it comes to self-discipline, we all have some areas in life, in which we struggle more to be disciplined than in others.
The key is to expect those moments beforehand so that you can take precautions. You need to remove all of your usual distractions and temptations.
Is it always in the evening, when you can´t get yourself motivated to do any studying? In that case, you need to study before that. Maybe that means waking up earlier.
Do you lose yourself watching Netflix or YouTube? Ban those apps from your phone or put a time limit on them.
Do you keep hitting the snooze button and fall back asleep? Put your alarm away from your bed, so that you have to stand up in the morning. Once you are standing there, keep standing until that urge to close your eyes has weakened enough for you to go on with your day.
Get to know yourself better. Become self-aware.
Once you develop self-control dealing with life becomes more comfortable.
3. Deconstruct your Goal
As I mentioned in my “11 Effective Ways to deal with Overwhelm” it is easy to become overwhelmed by a big goal.
And the more overwhelmed you are, the more difficult it will be to have the willpower to start working on that goal.
Therefore you need to make your goal more achievable by dividing it into multiple smaller goals.
So if my goal is to run a 5-kilometer marathon. I need to train for let´s say two months. This week, I would need to go running three times. That means I need to run today.
But I still don´t feel like it. So I only tell myself to start running. That´s my new goal. I tell myself that I can stop anytime should I feel too exhausted. But I want to start running.
To have the discipline to start running is easier than to have the discipline to start training for a 5-kilometers marathon.
And the fantastic thing is, that most people won´t stop their run, even if it should feel exhausted. Because now they have already started.
Now they tell themselves, “ok I can run a few hundred meters more and maybe another few meters. Great, now I can just as well finish my run.”
The most significant difficulty is always to bring an object into movement. Once it moves, it is increasingly more comfsortable to keep it moving and even to accelerate it.
This is just like that chain of X´s you make into your calendar for every day you did a habit. As you see that chain of X´s grow, you will work harder and harder not to break that streak.
So always try to get started. No matter how little your initial goal is, it will quickly help you to find the discipline to reach your ultimate goal.
4. Design your thoughts
Another helpful way to cultivate self-discipline is to design affirming thoughts. The Law of Attraction uses this method as well.
Always remember: Your thoughts create your actions!
So if you want to have more willpower, you need to think thoughts that match the self-disciplined self you want to be.
If you try to be disciplined enough to do that workout think:
“I love working out! I love to feel how my body gets stronger every single day! The time will pass quickly, I just know it! I can´t wait to start my training! ”
The more you think these positive thoughts, the more you are actually going to believe them. In result, it will become easier for you to be disciplined.
5. Do anything like you want to do everything
We tend to find excuses for why we don´t need to work hard today.
“I worked sooo hard yesterday, today I can cut some slack.”
“Oh, tomorrow is going to be really exhausting, I think I should just take it easy this afternoon.”
Of course, there are times, when it is justified and also needed to relax a bit. But whenever you are about to decide whether or not you should stay disciplined, think about the following:
“How you do anything is how you do everything!”
T. Harv Eker
It is incredibly easy to fall in the excuse trap. In the end, we will always find some kind of excuse why we don´t need to be disciplined today.
And the less you force yourself to be disciplined, the more difficult it will be to get that willpower back.
So be careful with your decisions! After all, your future is the sum of the choices you make each day!
6. Take some Time off and Reward yourself
Nobody can always be disciplined. The longer you keep grinding, the harder it will be to motivate yourself.
You need to know when it is time to relax. As mentioned above, you can´t allow yourself to rest too often. But some self-care is definitely required once in a while.
“What gets rewarded, gets repeated.”
John E. Jones
After all, we humans are just mammals. And what do we give our pets after they behaved well? A treat.
So treat yourself for your discipline. This can be anything from having a dessert, to watching another episode, to buying yourself something beautiful.
But again, measure carefully. You don´t want to spoil yourself!
7. Forgive yourself and move on
We will not always meet our expectations. After all, we are often our harshest critic.
Whenever you have found yourself being not disciplined enough and slacking, you need to acknowledge that.
But after doing that, you need to let it go. There is nothing you can do about it anymore. The past is the past. All we ever really have is the present as Eckhart Tolle likes to say.
So try and make the best out of it by being disciplined now!
8. Don´t wait for motivation, create motivation!
One sentence that just screams a lack of self-discipline is the “I just don´t feel motivated to do that”-excuse.
Listen carefully: Motivation is NOT needed for Self-discipline!
That´s what self-discipline is all about! To push through although you do not feel motivated.
Nobody cares if you are motivated. What matters is if you are disciplined enough to get the job done.
However, if you are motivated, you do not need to be disciplined as much.
To use that knowledge to your advantage, you need to be able to create motivation and to self motivate you.
Figure out what gets your spirits up. Is it listening to Eminem? Maybe you need to watch some motivational YouTube videos. Or you merely need some motivational Pinterest quotes.
In that case, I recommend you to check out my Pinterest boards. I have a ton of motivational and inspirational quotes there.
Whatever it is, get yourself motivated. Maybe put up some motivational quotes around your house, where you will see them during your daily routine.
And if all should fail, you simply need to be disciplined.
Nobody ever got anywhere by just putting in the work whenever they felt motivated.
9. Challenge yourself
Self Discipline is a muscle! The more we use it, the stronger it gets.
So make it a habit to challenge yourself every day. It does not need to be an enormous challenges. Something small like forcing yourself to take a cold shower or brushing
Just keep training that muscle a little bit every day.
This way, you can slowly start to build stronger willpower, and it will be easier for you to use it if necessary.
What about you, Felicity Seekers? Are you disciplined?
Has a lack of willpower ever been an issue for you in any area of your life?
Tell us about it down below!
