5 Ways to Build Self-Discipline

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Some people see discipline as this military punishment that does not allow you to have any sort of personality. I beg to differ since you cannot actually achieve anything meaningful with your life and lacking discipline at the same time. For example, you cannot become a skilled athlete,artist, lawyer, doctor, carpenter or writer without consistently working on your craft. Oprah, Denzel Washington, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, sounds familiar? Discipline is the mental strength to do what is necessary and right despite how uncomfortable it could be. Here are five ways to help you build a more disciplined version of yourself and conquer those things you have been longing for so long.

1. Write down everything you do in a day. Take this as an opportunity to see where you stand. It is extremely important to record where you time goes and what decisions you make. You will be amazed of how much time you probably waste in frivolous social media browsing, celebrity gossip and anime. This also includes how much money you spend on that daily double mocha cappuccino Latte with oat milk (gross). This is your baseline, what David Goggins would call your “accountability mirror.” So go ahead and be transparent with yourself and write down everything you do in 24 hours.
2. Learn new habits. Humans are creatures whose behaviors are a collection of habits. learning new daily habits like reading, working out, meditating, writing, making your bed, praying, and going for a jog are just a few of the unlimited habits you can pick to immediately improve your self discipline. It is all about consistency, I know, you have the habit of hearing it all the time but you probably don’t have the habit of practicing it. Learning new habits also means getting away from those that only sabotage your health, job and relationships. Such habits include smoking, drugs, bad personal hygiene, and lack of punctuality. Working on these will create a compound effect that will improve your discipline and every area of your life.
3. Be willing to be uncomfortable. In the military the first thing you learn is how to be comfortable being uncomfortable. In other words, you cannot be afraid to quickly adapt to sudden changes.Yes, it is difficult to do squats with sore legs, get that paperwork done with a migraine blowing up your head or doing one more sales call at 9pm. The same rule applies to every field and any profession. No a single aspect of life is guaranteed, probably besides taxes, so it is important to be always ready to lose and win any day, anytime. The good news is that the discomfort is only temporary and at the end it actually works out in your favor.
4. Practice. Practice. Practice.
5. Have faith. I am the farthest thing you can imagine from a preacher. I don’t even go to church, do not tell my mother, but you would be surprised how far a little bit of faith in yourself can take you. Self-discipline is also believing that your good habits, self accountability and decisions are the best for your life. This invisible spark that lives between your chest and consciousness is what allows you to wake up every morning and practice all the things you know can bring prosperity and peace to your home.

Self-discipline will not only make you a better worker, partner, friend and person. It will also make you healthier and a bigger contributor to your community. The results can be shocking, and you will experience a whole different life. Then, one day you might understand the words of a wise man who once said that “discipline equals freedom.”