Discipline
Have you set a goal and then battle with self-discipline? It is key to reaching your goals. Self-discipline is a learned skill, not an innate characteristic. In a survey, 27% of respondents said that lack of willpower was the biggest barrier to making healthy lifestyle changes. Respondents believed that an increase in leisure time could improve their willpower as they would have more time for themselves. Having an increase in leisure time does not automatically equate to increased self-discipline.
Here are some ways that you can focus on increasing your self-discipline.
Acknowledge your weakness - Too often people either try to pretend their weaknesses don’t exist or they try to minimize the negative impact their bad habits have on their lives.
Establish a clear plan - Develop a plan to outline the action steps you will take to help you reach your goals.
Removed the temptations - Making it difficult to access temptations can be pivotal to increasing self-discipline.
Practice tolerating emotional discomfort - Practice allowing yourself to experience uncomfortable emotions like boredom, frustration, sadness or loneliness.
Visualise the long-term rewards - Giving in to today’s temptations may make you feel happy now. Long-term happiness and contentment require you to forgo immediate gratification.
Recover from mistakes effectively - Self-discipline comes easier on some days than others. Making mistakes is part of the process to becoming better. The way that you recover from those mistakes is what’s most important.
The good news is we all have the ability to be self-disciplined, we just have to practice. Interested to learn more? Amy Morin a psychotherapist and author shares more in her book, 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do.