What Is Self-Discipline and
How to Develop It to Succeed in Life

Self-discipline refers to our ability to follow a course of action despite the temptations, roadblocks, or personal weaknesses we may face along the way. Often, having self-discipline requires daily efforts toward a goal, personal value, or good habit. Other times, self-discipline may require forgoing bad habits or temptations. A common example of self-discipline is following a healthy diet and exercise regimen, during which we are often faced with temptations that we must resist in order to succeed.

You've probably heard the word, confidence, a thousand times, but chances are that you've never really given thought to it. Being intentional about things makes them hit differently, and it changes your attitude toward them. So, What is self-confidence? Think about it for a second…

Self-confidence is a strong belief in your skills, ability, and an acceptance of your mind and body. It is mastering your strengths and weaknesses so well that you develop a positive view of yourself and trust in your abilities to take perfect control of your life. Self-confidence is the most important quality for anyone looking to succeed in new tasks and challenges.

One of the main reasons why self-discipline is important is that it allows you to work toward long-term goals with consistent effort. For example, having the self-discipline to give up sugar completely may help you reach your weight loss goals faster than if you were to only give up sugar two days of the week.

With a strong sense of what self-discipline means to you and what you need to develop it, you can set and reach higher goals than you could without this focus.

We all have different temptations and weaknesses. Knowing what you struggle with and being honest with yourself will allow you to develop the self-discipline to overcome those struggles. Whether you need to be honest about a short temper or a lack of knowledge or skills, by doing so, you set yourself up for success.

Once you've identified your weaknesses, you can spend less time worrying about what might happen when faced with challenges and more time planning ways to overcome them. If you know that you often seek negative distractions after a difficult day at work, you can prepare for this by keeping a list of television shows or movies you could watch or other enjoyable activities you could do instead. By making the decision of what you'll do after a bad day at work before it happens, you'll be much more likely to see it through.

For many, one of the main things self-discipline means is having an organized and structured life. A scheduled day not only helps keep you on task but helps remove the possibility of "decision fatigue," a reduced ability to overcome temptations. By removing the need to ask yourself, "What do I need to do next?" you free up your brainpower to focus on your tasks and build your self-discipline.

For many people, self-discipline is difficult to develop because they have no clear goals. An achievable goal with a time limit and realistic expectations gives you something to aim your efforts toward. Because many goals require weekly (if not daily) effort, working toward them is also a way to nurture discipline in yourself.

With defined goals, it's much easier to see just why self-discipline is important. Having the ability to work toward your goals day in and day out regardless of motivation can make the difference between meeting them or not. With many goals, you can often break them into small daily steps that move you closer each day and help you master your discipline.

Start off your discipline practice with small daily steps. Not only do small efforts add up over time, but daily effort helps keep your goals at the forefront of your mind. A habit of self-discipline is easiest to build when approached step by step.

Small actionable steps can quickly become habits that fuel real change. The common saying "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" can be used to remind yourself that your small efforts are worth it when you find yourself lacking motivation.

Reach out to your family, friends, and community for accountability and support. There will be days when you may feel like giving up on your goals or letting your discipline fail. If you have a strong support network that you can reach out to on these days, it can make overcoming the challenges easier. Reaching out to online support networks through social media can be another great source of information, motivation, and support from people around the world all working toward a similar goal.

Implement a healthy reward system to motivate you on your journey to self-discipline. Rewarding yourself for your hard work is just as important as dedicating yourself to your goals every day. By treating yourself to something small, like your favorite drink after work or an extra 20 minutes at the park, you'll feel more motivated to stay on track with your goals. Other good ideas for small rewards include watching an episode of your favorite show, taking a bubble bath, investing time in your hobbies, or enjoying a nice meal with a loved one.

If your overall lifestyle is out of balance, you may find it hard to even define what self-discipline means to you. Making sure you get plenty of sleep, eat balanced meals, and get enough exercise is crucial to your success. When you treat your body well, you'll often find that it's easier to focus on building self-discipline and daily habits into your life.

The secret to staying motivated will be different for everyone, but don't be afraid to keep trying things until you find what works for you. Some people may be able to motivate themselves internally by reminding themselves of their goals, while others may need help and inspiration from their friends and families to stay focused. Regardless of how you find yourself the most motivated, make sure that you build time into your schedule to remind yourself why you want to build self-discipline in the first place.

Seek to limit the temptations and distractions you may face when building self-discipline in your daily life. For some, this may mean donating all of the unhealthy food in their house. For others, more drastic measures may need to be taken to make their new habits easier to form. Take an honest look at your life and the bad habits you may have picked up along the way, and look for ways to limit their influence on your discipline.

The more often you integrate action into your daily life, the easier it is to make a habit. Your main focus when building self-discipline should be building a solid foundation of good habits. For example, starting a new diet by building in the habits of drinking plenty of water and eating the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables each day is a great way to get started. From there, you can add even more habits into your life to create lasting change. The more often you repeat your actions, the more likely they are to become habits that stick.

The journey to building self-discipline in your life can be extremely rewarding. By taking the first step of asking, "What's self-discipline all about anyway?" you've sparked the curiosity that can motivate you to create lasting change. Start by limiting the temptations and challenges in your path, and then commit to building a series of good habits that will support you and move you toward your goals. Over time, you'll likely see success in more areas than just building discipline within yourself.