Tweet

How to Develop Self-Discipline

Written by: Mark Foo

Article Overview: Self-discipline is a powerful attribute to have, yet challenging to obtain. Self-discipline is the ability to do whatever it takes to overcome obstacles and reach your goals, even when it's inconvenient or uncomfortable. It may involve saying: "no" to things you want or saying: "yes" to things you hate, but with the power of self-discipline, it becomes easier to stand up for yourself.

How to Develop Self-Discipline

Trying to master self-discipline can be a tough task but it can be extremely rewarding.

The power of self-discipline has never been underestimated. It helps an individual to overcome various obstacles in order to achieve his or her goal. This does not mean that things are easy. Self-discipline teaches you to say no to things you want and yes to things you hate. It is an art in itself.

Even though we would all want to be self-disciplined, only a few have it in them to master the techniques.

It is very common for individuals to start of their days with a positive high, however tend to get distracted by various issues during the day. We have highlighted certain strategies that you can make use of in your daily lives that will help ensure you stay on the task as you initially planned.

Follow these techniques precisely for full results:

1. Being committed is very important. Saying you want to be self-disciplined and actually wanting to be are two separate things. You need to have a full level of commitment to ensure that you have any chance of succeeding in your goal.

• You need to be honest. Unless you are honest with yourself in the process of whether or not you really want to be self-disciplined, there is no way that you can achieve your goal.

• You can only succeed by remaining committed to the cause.

2. Make notes. Take some time to sit down and clearly write out what you hope to achieve. This will help in you being able to clarify your goals. Clarity is power!

• Having something written down in front of you makes it much easier for you to understand and see what you need to achieve. Make notes of what you need to improve on and you will be able to see the changes yourself.

3. It is a good idea to get the help of others. Once you have decided that you want to make a change, it is a good idea to tell others. This will help boost your confidence and will ensure that they help you out in achieving your goal.

• Don't be put of by the fact that you weren't already disciplined. The important thing that counts and should only matter to you is the fact that you have decided to make a change, which is great!

• Having other people involved in achieving your goal will help you get through the rough patches and put you back on the right track.

4. You have to believe in yourself. There is no point in trying to achieve your goal if you are not going to believe that you can do it. You need the mental strength of believing that anything can be achieved if you put your mind and commitment to it.

• Don't look at short-term temporary results. You main aim and focus should me targeting towards long-term permanent results.

Being self-disciplined is an art that only a few can master, which is why many people admire those who are self-disciplined. Self-disciplined individuals are always able to follow through what they've set out to accomplish.

Make use of these strategies by making them a part of your everyday life. This will ensure you come close to achieving your goal of becoming self-disciplined.

Related Articles
  3.4 Making money work for poverty reduction: Working Out of Poverty
  Why the Relationship is So Important to the Sales Outcome
  “Top Twelve FAILING TO DO Items That Will Undermine Your Business Success, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach”
  A Series of Strategic PR Tips and Prescriptions, Part 1 From The PR Doctor
  “Strategic Marketing Tips From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach”

Article Tags: clarity, obstacles, self discipline



Related Forum Posts
And This is Handy Too! - [quote:31wl64vf]Develop Fingerprints! Place a small wad of cotton, saturated with tincture of iodine, in a glass tube; blow against suspected fingerprints, and they will appear. [/quote:31wl64vf] Must be of use to all you entrepreneurs out there!
Working with Suppliers - Hi Mary, You're facing a very common issue for entrepreneurs. 2 suggestions I have for you: 1) Develop a personal relationship. Get to know your potential suppliers and meet with them face to face. If it's a meeting you set up or you find them at a tradeshow, etc get to know the people and they're much more likely to cut you a break. People want to work with people they know and like. 2) Have you considered smaller, local suppliers who see your business as more important?
Re: Email marketing strategy - [quote="cathleen":1how8x8i]Here are the some steps you need to take to develop an effective e-mail strategy: Identify qualitative goals. Analyze the current situation. Complete a competitive analysis. Define the target audience. Determine which types of e-mail meet your needs. Develop a content strategy and a frequency and send schedule. Design the e-mail template. Create quantitative goals. Compile budget and ROI (define) projections. Evaluate results and tweak the strategy accordingly[/quote:1how8x8i] Nice tips, Cathleen. Is this something you do professionally?
Green Gardener Goals - - Grow Revenues in 2007 towards seven figures or set stage for 2008 - Turn a Profit in 2007 - Develop online marketing capacity in ecological interms of web traffic (not sure about metrics) - generate 1000 sales leads via online, print, personal contacts events - Christmas ecological product lines - Have an email newsletter of between 1500-2000 recipients - generate $50,000 in online sales of plants, seeds, gardening accesories and Ecological Gifts in 2007 - develop community based marketing program based on lessons learned in pilot - systematize sales, admin, operations and Real Time Enterprise Capacity - feel good enough about 2007 to go on vacation in Jan 08 - buy land in country
Self Development Tips - I find this old article about self development and very liked it. I think here a lot practical rules! As long as you are still alive, you are capable of changing and growing. You can do anything you want to do, be anything you want to be. Listen to some positive thoughts on how to continue your self development and then apply them in your own life. 1. Accept personal responsibility for your own growth; no one can do it for you. What you do today will determine your readiness for tomorrow. 2. Take time every day to do something for yourself. 3. Take classes to stay current in your field of expertise. The world is changing rapidly and you must learn to manage change to avoid obsolescence. The way Will Rogers put this was that "Even if you are on the right track, if you just sit there you will get run over." 4. Listen to cassette tapes on personal and professional growth topics. 5. Never look back to the past - you only can control your actions in this instant, so what should you be doing right now? 6. Learn from "other people's experience" rather then having to try everything for yourself. It shortens the time needed to learn. 7. Dealing with a problem helps you learn patience and strengthens your management skills; it is good mental exercise. 8. Analyze, in a non-judgmental way, mistakes in which you were involved. It will help you to prevent these in the future. 9. Reward yourself when you catch yourself working on the most important priorities. 10. Never say something can't or won't be done. Keep looking for ways to do it. 11. After attending a seminar, report to your boss or other people in your organization, what the most important things are that you learned from the program. 12. Eliminate one time waster a week from your life. 13. Read a minimum of one chapter of a book a day. 14. Read a minimum of one book a month. 15. Be hungry for what life has to offer and go for it. 16. Decide what you really desire to do - then do it. 17. When you have the option of reading a book or listening to the cassette tape version of the program, listen to the tape. It will be more to the point and can be done while you are driving, jogging/walking, or getting other routine things done. 18. Develop a "master mind" group of four or five people with whom you can openly discuss ideas in a nonjudgmental way. 19. Develop yourself as a resource for others by networking. Find out who does what, when, and for whom. You may find excellent contacts for your future needs and for the needs of others you meet. 20. Work for balance in your life goals: family, financial, professional, social, spiritual, recreational. 21. Always keep your goals in mind as you start a new activity. 22. If you do a lot of work with the calculator, run the machine with the hand you don't use for writing. 23. Do not be afraid of failing at something. You can learn and change as a result of it. 24. The most difficult projects are opportunities for your biggest successes just as the most difficult people could become your strongest allies. 25. Put up pictures of your dreams and goals where you will see them frequently. They will remind you and aid you in focusing and visualizing your goal. 26. We all have the same 24 hours in a day. Learn from those people who get more done than you do. Perhaps you can find a way to improve what you are doing. 27. Find a nonjudgmental mentor who will help you by providing feedback, suggestions, challenges and support. 28. Identify some "models" and observe their style and actions. Do not copy them but learn from their experiences. 29. Learn from the errors you see others make as well as from their successes. 30. Fill your mind with positive ideas, thoughts and inspirations and you will have no room left for the negative. 31. Trade jobs with someone so you gain additional experience. 32. Ask for and accept lateral moves in the organization so you learn more about the entire operation. 33. Do more than your "self doubts" say you can. 34. Have confidence that you can get through and learn from anything and everything you experience. 35. Reward yourself with a treat when you have completed a learning objective. 36. Keep a daily journal, recording your thoughts, ideas, feelings and personal growth progress. 37. Ask questions, listen, then ask more questions. You will learn as well as help others learn. 38. Ask yourself, "How can I manipulate my fate?" 39. Do things with someone you respect. They will be supportive of you and you will learn from interacting with them. 40. Seek new information on projects for which you have responsibility. Look for new "ah ha" ideas all the time. 41. Challenge yourself to learn something new every day. 42. Remain flexible and constantly adaptable. 43. Be open to others and sincerely interested in them. You can learn from everyone you meet. 44. Mentally rehearse a new skill. Your subconscious does not know the difference between actual practice and mental rehearsal. 45. Keep a record of what you accomplished the previous day(s)/week. If you did not accomplish as much as you wanted, it gives you extra incentive to do better in the next time period. 46. Make notes of the questions you want answered. Then as the answers come to you, jot them down next to the question. 47. Work on overcoming personal, nonproductive habits; for example: overeating, smoking, gossip. 48. Keep an "Idea File" ring binder or notebook in which you record all new ideas. At least once a week in a standing appointment with yourself, review your ideas. Very interesting to know other practical self development tips.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

How to Ask for a Flexible Work Arrangement

BUILDING A HIGH PERFORMING TEAM

Severance and Separation Agreements

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.