So, you’re not happy with where you are at in life, and you have a few goals that will improve your situation. What are the essential traits to help you achieve this? Motivation, optimism, and self-discipline, to name a few. In this post, we will discuss self-discipline and how you can not only better it but also use it to your advantage to reach your goals and create a happier life.
Self-Discipline is not the same as being disciplined as a child
Discipline does not have to be seen as a form of punishment. Maybe when we imagine those disciplined, we think of monks in simple garbs meditating, trying to find a focus and inner peace while denying themselves worldly pleasures.
We live in a time where gluttony, one of seven sins, is not enforced. It seems to be encouraged by all these influencers on social media who have all these luxury items.
As a child, you were probably told no by your parents at some point. You were denied something you wanted or told to wait. And waiting felt like forever.
The Marshmallow Test Experiment was an experiment trying to show that delayed gratification in children was linked to better success later on in life. Children were left in the testing room alone with a marshmallow on the table in front of them and filmed to see how long they would wait until they ate the marshmallow.
In the end, this experiment, although it captured very cute footage, was not as conclusive as researchers would have hoped.
Still, you practice delayed gratification in your everyday life. From waiting until it’s dinnertime to eat instead of snacking right before, rewarding yourself with a treat at the end of a hard work week, to saving for a new car.
Practicing self-discipline can benefit your life
Imagine if you didn’t practice delayed gratification – you just bought whatever you wanted on a whim. Besides hurting your finances, you would only be temporarily satisfying a desire.
The euphoria of getting what you want would quickly wear off, and over time, you would acclimate to getting everything you want immediately. You may start to feel numb. This is because we build our emotions in our anticipation of something.
Think of a scary movie – most of the fear is built before the actual scare. It’s the anticipation of something terrible. When the actual horrible thing or jump scare happens, it is relatively short, and then it’s done – like ripping off a band-aid.
This can apply to upcoming vacations. It’s exciting to know you are going on vacation and you count down the days. Maybe you practice some phrases in the foreign language of the country you will be going to. The actual vacation is fun, but during the actual time, you experience it, and then afterward, think back and say how enjoyable it was.
Besides creating more excitement in your life and feeling more than “going through the motions,” you will feel less out of control.
Being able to say “no” or stop yourself takes strength of character. This will clear up your schedule to be able to do the things that matter to you and bring you more fulfillment.
How to improve your self-discipline
So, how do we make improve our self-discipline? I know mine is really low, especially if I have a bag of Hot Cheetos in the house.
First, you need to know yourself. Are you able to indulge just a bit, or do you get out of control? If you can’t manage to portion out your weakness, then cut it out of your life for now. When you’re stronger, consider adding it back in small doses.
We can’t completely cut out what’s fun in our lives, but when some things are no longer fun, they are taking over. For example, if you get lost for hours scrolling through social media, consider doing a “cleanse” and cutting it out entirely for a set amount of time.
Set a goal with a plan. Try out not being on social media for a week. Note how you feel as the days go on. It’ll probably be very hard at first, but then you’ll find toward the end of the week, it gets easier.
Make sure to celebrate your success and forgive yourself when you mess up. Then, pick another area you could address. This could be going to bed and waking up earlier or exercising more. Do it daily.
To meet these achievements, you will need to give up certain bad habits and instead create new, good habits. You may need a mentor or a buddy to help you get through this. Eventually, you will build self-discipline by both saying no to bad influences and by sticking to routines that will help you grow.
The strength to improve your life is within you
It can feel frustrating to not feel like you are in control of your life or that you are wading through muck and not making forward progress in your life.
It’s easy to blame outside influences, but until you stop making excuses and see how you play a role in your life, you won’t move forward.
Cutting out bad habits or things and people in your life holding you back takes self-discipline. Waiting for something better by sacrificing now or keeping your head down now takes self-discipline.
We have the strength to not give in to every temptation and the courage to know that better things will result from self-discipline.
Live happier,
Nicole
Leave a comment below and tell me what you’ve been working on lately to improve your life!
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Other posts to read
- How Procrastination Leads to Stress and Unhappiness
- Giving Thanks: How Gratitude is the Key to Happiness
- Building Self-Confidence for a Successful and Happier Life
3 replies on “Improving Your Self-Discipline”
Great post! I think my self-discipline is better than most people when it comes to somethings, but not as good as some for others. Especially when it comes to repetitive tasks like housework 🤣
That’s a good point! Self-discipline can vary from task to task and be different for each person.
Thx.