What is Self Discipline?

It is the willpower to push yourself to continue and achieve what you want. Everyone has self-discipline, but the less you practice this, the less it develops. Self-discipline is the ability to urge yourself to do something when you may prefer to do something completely different. In this way you give more priority to something that is more important to yourself in the long term.

You probably recognize that you mean something to yourself because it is better for you, but you like so many other things to do so that you quickly forget it and keep going as you always did. “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments.” – Jim Rohn.

What is Commitment?

Commitment is dedicating yourself to something or a cause and it’s your commitment that obligates and pushes you to do the right thing at the right time.

Therefore Self-discipline and Commitment is not something you are born with. It is a skill that you can become good at over the years. You have a goal, but of course you want to achieve results and successes. However, these results do not come just like that. This requires self-discipline and commitment. There is no successful person who has achieved results without self-discipline and commitment (dedication). So self-discipline is nothing less than training yourself to achieve what you want in any area of your life and commitment is what obligates you to do things.

Importance of Self Discipline and Commitment to change your life

“Self-discipline is the will to do what it takes to achieve the desired results”. Commitment is dedicating yourself to achieve a goal. Self-discipline is what allows you to get the necessary resources when you lose motivation and more precisely energy. Maintaining motivation is a marathon, but it is with self- discipline that one crosses the finish line. You need self-discipline and Commitment to change your life in a positive way. You can’t achieve it by sitting on the couch and doing nothing about it. You will have to make time and train yourself to keep things going.

Like many people, I also had to teach myself this. I actually enjoy too many things to do so I struggled to hold onto something I wanted to achieve. So I always forgot my goal and did something else and then came to the conclusion that I had made no progress. I kept getting stuck at the same point because I didn’t have the discipline to keep it up.

I have therefore had to teach myself to gain more self-discipline to stick to what I want to achieve. Most importantly, you need to make time to achieve what you want. You need to make your plans or goal (s) as concrete as possible so that you are prepared for most things.

With the steps below you will also be able to continue.

1. What would you like to achieve?

Write for yourself what you would like to achieve. Why write and not just think? When you write things down, this is a powerful signal for your brain. As soon as you make it concrete for yourself, your brain starts to work. If you only think about what you want to achieve, chances are that you will forget it in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Your good intentions or your plans disappear into the background and then reappear after a long time so that you conclude that you have still not done anything about it. If you really want something, it is therefore important to write it down for yourself.

2. Visualize and see that you have already achieved it.

There is great power in visualization and you create your dream life yourself . These are about how you learn to visualize your goal (s). It is simpler than most people think. If you have set yourself a goal, try to see it in front of you. Think of it as daydreaming or meditating. Dream away to what you want to achieve. In the previous step you made clear to yourself what you want. Try to visualize this in concrete terms.

Visualization examples:

For example, if you want to earn more money to get your dream life, try to imagine that you have already achieved what you want. Do this as clearly as you can, see how much money is in your bank account, what house you live in, how you feel. What do you smell? Put as many senses to work as you start visualizing. Practicing this every day makes it easier to see what you want in front of you.

Would you like to lose weight and get fitter? Then visualize that you have lost weight in a healthy way. You see yourself active so that you feel fit and you have all the energy in the world. See how to take good care of yourself and how to smell healthy meals. Visualize that you look in the mirror and are completely satisfied with yourself. Tell yourself that you are proud of yourself.

Take your time for it. Turn off your mobile and make sure you sit or lie down relaxed. Actually, this is a meditation with your own purpose (s). The power of visualization is that you get a clearer picture and you will see more and more things coming your way to achieve your goal.

3. Take responsibility

With self-discipline you take back control of your life. You make decisions that you know will contribute to success. Having control over something also means that you are responsible. You are responsible for your actions and for your results, no one else. The moment you shift responsibility away you actually give away your powers. You give away the control so that you are no longer able to make structural choices. You actually say:

“I’m doing everything right, but X doesn’t make it to my goals”

You will never create discipline because your actions and results depend on something outside yourself. Take your responsibility and say to yourself:

“I am responsible for my results” “I am responsible for my actions”

This will allow you to see what you can do differently to have that discipline. You are going to show more self-discipline because you are responsible. If you blame someone else, you can very easily blame the other person for not having achieved results. If you have made yourself responsible then this is a different story. Then you attach much more value to the actions you take. So set a clear goal, Visualize it, know your reason and take responsibility.

4. Create a vision board

With a vision board you can see every day for which you want to improve your self-discipline. You see what you do everything for and this is the power of a vision board. Make your vision board as attractive as possible with powerful photos and quotes, for example. You can read how to make a good vision board in the power of a vision board.

Get started with this and hang it somewhere where you see it every day so that you keep your goal in mind. It is a good reminder if you see this every day.

5. Create your own step-by-step plan

To improve your self-discipline, it is now time to make an action plan so that you stay focused on what to do. You have to create the right structure in your life to achieve what you want. Do one thing at a time. Do not start everything at once because the chance that you will keep it up is much more difficult. Start with the most important and then take your next goal. Improving your discipline is just like learning to walk. You learn step by step to improve your willpower.

a. What do you need to achieve what you want to achieve?

Write down this step and what you need to do it. For example, do you want another job? Then write down what you need for this job. What should you learn? What skills do you need? If you write down this step you will know where to start.

b. What are your pitfalls?
How do you avoid these difficult moments?

Believe me it will not always be easy. That is why it is good if you also write down the difficult things that you may encounter and think up what you are going to do. You can also choose to say something to yourself at difficult moments such as “no, I don’t do that anymore” when it comes to quitting smoking or losing weight.

For example, if you have to learn something and you just receive a nice invitation, you can say to yourself “I want ………. achieve (goal) so I will skip for now because I want to achieve my goal”.

Investing in your goal now ensures that you will soon reap the benefits and that you can be super proud of yourself. It is important to know that you will encounter setbacks and / or difficult moments. It will not all go smoothly.

c. Take setbacks into account and don’t just give up on your goal.

The more things you can come up with now what can be wrong, the more solutions you can think of in advance. Of course you cannot prevent everything and it will not always be easy, but continue. Don’t be distracted or tempted to let go of your self-discipline and commitment.

6. Track your progress

Nothing is more fun than tracking your progress. It gives you satisfaction and you remain motivated. Every step is one. It gives you satisfaction when you have overcome a pitfall and persevered. Writing down every progress is like a gift for your confidence and discipline. The further you progress the more your discipline and willpower is strengthened. Your perseverance improves with every step you take and maintain.