Discipline

Discipline isn’t always easy to cultivate. You aren’t alone. A lot of people struggle to cultivate discipline. The good news is, it’s not impossible.

If you read Discipline vs Motivation, you already know that discipline is key when working towards any goal. Motivation is great. It gives us a burst of energy to get things done. Sometimes, it makes us feel like we are unstoppable. The problem with motivation is it isn’t always going to be there. Motivation is fleeting. Discipline on the other hand is always there once you make it an established part of your life.

Easier said than done, right?

Actually, it is, with a little help. So let’s dive a little deeper in to cultivating discipline to help reach all of the goals you have set.

The Trick to Building Discipline

Find your why: Your why needs to be stronger than any of your excuses. Wanting to lose weight is a great goal. But, that alone is not going to be enough to push you through on the days when you rather have a Netflix binge than workout.

Dig deep. Why do you want to lose weight? How will you feel when you accomplish that goal? How will life be better if you achieve weight loss? Write down exactly why your goal matters. Put as much feeling and emotion into it as you can. Then, keep it visible. Post on your desk, on your fridge, make it your home screen, and look at it daily.

Remember the importance of a routine: Sadly, routine is also synonymous with boring. The truth? Routines can set you free. The less thinking you have to put into reaching a goal, the easier it becomes. How do you do this? You create habits. You build a routine from those habits.

For example, workout at the same time every day. Schedule your workouts into your calendar at the start of each week. Most importantly, protect your routine. Treat it like any other appointment you wouldn’t cancel. Routines remove the chaos of deciding and leave space for growth.

Don’t underestimate the power of mindset: Mindset is HUGE. What you think and how you talk to yourself has a huge influence on our day-to-day activiites.

For example,

Instead of saying, “I hope I can do this”, say, “I can do this”.

Instead of saying, “This is too hard for me”, say, “This is a challenge I can learn from”.

When you catch yourself saying something negative about yourself, stop, take a deep breath, and reframe the thought to something more helpful.

Celebrate the small wins: We all love a reward. I know the personal satisfaction I get from crossing off things on my to-do list. I will often give myself a little reward at the end of a particularly hard or busy week.

Don’t wait to only celebrate the big wins. Celebrate the little wins along the way. Each and every step you take gets you closer and closer to your goal. When you accomplish something, take two minutes to enjoy the feeling before thinking about the next step. After accomplishing a tough task, treat yourself. It doesn’t have to be big, your favorite coffee, time outside, even a relaxing bath are amazing.

Celebrating the small steps along the way trains your brain to crave progress.

Visualize: Envision reaching your goal. What you see in your mind, you will create in your actions.

Try this. Every morning, close your eyes. Imagine your self doing the hard things effortlessly. Picture yourself reaching your goal and feeling prod of your results. Make a vision board. Use pictures and words to show what it will be like when you reach your goal. Think of it as a dress rehersal.

Reset. Don’t quit: Remember, things won’t always be perfect. But that isn’t a reason to quit.

If you missed a workout, you just do it the next day.

If your nutrition was off, you get back on track the very next meal.

A misstep is just that, it is not the end of your journey.

Discipline is about creating an environment where working towards your goals feels natural. It is a mindset where setbacks are just lessons. Discipline is a vision you clearly create so that it pulls you forward each and every day.