doing what matters, leading to mediocre
results and disappointment.
It’s time to end the cycle of unproductivity
and get into real productivity through
taking a different position and choosing
differently. Developing self-discipline
will help you accomplish your goals faster,
raise your confidence levels, increase your
opportunities as you build your brand of
reliability and solid performance and make
you a role-model for others. Here are ways
to develop self-discipline.
Be Aware of your Inner World
Consider your life’s purpose. Why were you
created? What is your special contribution
to mankind? You probably already know
what it is – it is usually something that
resonates with you and fulfills you. Create
a personal mission statement and a vision
of your life, then ask yourself, “What do I
need to do to achieve my purpose?”
As a man thinks in his heart, so is he, or as
Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you
can or whether you think you can’t, you’re
right.” Success starts within. How aware
are you of your thoughts and feelings?
Does the thought of accomplishing
great things inspire or scare you? Do you
mentally embrace or reject the idea? Do
you feel you don’t deserve to be successful?
What do you mostly think about yourself ?
Are your thoughts positive and uplifting or
do they bring you down? What do you say
to yourself as you avoid and procrastinate?
Your accomplishments will motivate you to stay
the course. Celebrate them - reward yourself
with something that gives you pleasure. Cele-
brate with the significant people in your life as
well. The pleasure will rewire your brain to focus
on the reward, rather than the pain of discipline,
keeping you motivated to remain disciplined and
creating new habits towards doing so.
Do you say, “I have enough time – I’ll start
tomorrow”, “I don’t feel like it”, “It’s too
much”, “Why should I try?”, “I don’t deserve
to succeed?”
We rise or fall to the level of our thinking,
and our thoughts influence our feelings
and actions. If you are not happy with your
thinking, change it! For instance you could
replace the earlier thoughts by saying, “I have
enough time for what needs to be done”,
“If I do a bit every day I’ll get it all done”,
“Making the effort will help me achieve my
goals”, and “I can and will succeed.”
Set Clear Goals and Schedule
their Accomplishment
Once you have clarified your inner world,
set up to ten simple, clear goals of what
you want to accomplish in your lifetime
and narrow them to this year. To make sure
they are balanced, include spiritual, family,
work/business, education, physical, social/
community, financial and personal goals.
Identify quarterly, monthly and weekly
steps you will take to realize your goals,
and schedule them. As Jinny Ditzler,
author of Best Year Yet says, what gets
scheduled gets done.
Be Consistent
It is what you do every day that makes
the difference. Break free from the urge
to stay the same. Keep your eyes on your
goals and keep moving steadily towards
them. You will not always ‘feel’ like
doing what needs to be done.
Watching a movie, reading a novel
or chatting with friends may be more
appealing than studying, organizing
your home or reading a business book.
These pleasures are better enjoyed after
doing what you should be doing now.
Better the pain of discipline than the
pain of regret.
Create Accountability,
Review, Celebrate and
Learn
Involve the people who care for you
in what you are doing, and allow them
to hold you accountable. Periodically
review your progress towards your
annual goals. Do this, daily, weekly,
monthly and quarterly.
Your accomplishments will motivate
you to stay the course. Celebrate them
- reward yourself with something that
gives you pleasure. Celebrate with the
significant people in your life as well.
The pleasure will rewire your brain to
focus on the reward, rather than the pain
of discipline, keeping you motivated to
remain disciplined and creating new
habits towards doing so.
As you review your progress, honestly
look at your disappointments as well.