5 Crucial Steps to Self-discipline

We all make promises to ourselves at the beginning of the year or month or week or day but do we fulfil them all? We do tend to fulfil them for some time then we lack the zeal to continue it. The lack of zeal is because we do not have self-discipline.

American author Napoleon Hill has said, “Self-disciplined begins with the mastery of your thoughts. If you don't control what you think, you can't control what you do. Simply, self-discipline enables you to think first and act afterward.”

Here are the five crucial steps to become self-discipline in life:

Identify your goals:

It is important to identify your goals, take some time and write them down in your journal what you want to achieve in your in life in the next few years or a few months. The goal does not have to be big enough like to become a billionaire but it can be as small as finishing a book or going to some destination or getting the perfectly chiselled body etc.

It is important to know what your tangible or intangible wishes are and keep yourself reminding that you have to take care of your dreams as much as your loved ones.

Check your progress:

After you identify your goals, make a chart or calendar to track your progress. Mark your calendar every day before sleeping that you have worked towards your goal. You can do that by maintaining a yearly to do list and ticking the boxes everyday and writing down what you felt about yourself after you did your routine.

Set a routine:

You need to figure out if you are making any progress at all or you need someone to help you figure out the steps for you. Self-discipline is process that takes years to set into the system; you have to push yourself everyday to make sure you tick all the boxes before the end of the day.

A routine will help you to bring discipline in life. Try 5 minutes rule, supposedly you do not feel like reading today, you can convince yourself to try reading only for 5 minutes only. You will see the difference when you sit down to read for 5 minutes, you actually end up reading for minimum one hour. Similarly you can try this method for every daily goal that you have made for yourself.

Acceptance and resistance:

It is human tendency that we get bored after following same patterns for days and we tend to break the monotony and call it a cheat day. Learn to forgive yourself for a day or two but you have to fall back into the routine. Make some sacrifices for yourself and break the resistance your body is making towards working for the goal.

Try to hear what your body is saying, if you are not well accept the resistance but not out of sheer laziness. It is important to listen to the signs of the body and respond accordingly.

Promise Yourself:

We often make promises to other people and stick to them while we break the promises we make for ourselves. Every day is different, some are easy while some are bad, it is important to continue working for the goals and not accept any compromises. This should be the promise you have to make to yourself that you won’t stop come what may.