Self-Discipline
SELF-DISCIPLINE: THE KEY TO HAPPINESS
If you want to know how discipline leads to happiness, then you’ll enjoy this article. Our research on this topic started after we came across an older, but still very relevant article that suggested the key to happiness was self-discipline.
We were struck by the article; particularly because it had brought to light a different key to happiness than we’ve been accustomed to hearing for most of our lives: The kind of secrets to happiness that we are all pretty much accustomed to hearing, you know; be more grateful, be present, get some supportive friends, have some goals to aspire to, focus on your health, or make more money, etc..
The article we read was published by the Atlantic. It was a synopsis of a study conducted in 2013 by Wilhelm Hoffman at the University of Chicago. If you are interested in digging deeper into the published research, you can do so here: Wiley Online Library.
Don’t Worry, Be Happy Self-Disciplined
The article spoke to us not only because it was refreshingly different from what the rest of the world typically says about acquiring happiness, but because it is something that we’ve found to be true in our own lives.
We’ve noticed through our own experiences, that when we’ve let our guard down, when we let our lack of self-control, and lack of discipline drive our life, things always seem to eventually get worse. It’s not something that happens immediately either; whenever we’ve let off the proverbial (self-discipline) pedal; it has always led to a slow process of degradation.
It typically starts with something small, like having a good habit of going to bed early morph into a bad habit of going to bed late. Having this good habit eventually turn into a bad habit, slowly leads to other good habits, like going to the gym consistently, or starting/arriving to work before schedule, in addition to other habits of our turning into bad habits all of their own. Eventually, through inertia, even our once chipper and positive attitude becomes influenced, allowing us to drift into a realm of negativity.
Unfortunately, this degradation process has led us to having less patience with friends and family, in addition to obvious signs of work motivation and productivity being impacted. Eventually, our levels of happiness and feelings of joy would take a very noticeable nose dive.
There’s no better quote to express the discipline to happiness process than the Dalai Lama’s famous quote: “A disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering.”
Needless to say, reading the study was not only like taking a breath of fresh air, but it was also reaffirming of our own experiences and philosophy on the link between self-discipline and happiness (which always feels good).
How Discipline Leads to Happiness
Below is a great way to visualize how discipline leads to happiness. It demonstrates how the end result/happiness levels can be determined by the level of discipline applied.
Get Disciplined About Self-Discipline
We are always aiming to add value to you, our readers, so we did some serious self-reflection and research to come up with the four methods that, you can apply easily, but that will still have the biggest impact on your ability to increase your self-discipline. We intentionally left out any fluff, so you can get moving on your journey towards increased happiness.
This is going to sound like a crazy thought, but it is true. Acquiring discipline requires discipline. None of the steps that we are about to provide to you will take place without you making up your mind to take action on them.
So in essence, to get disciplined, you have to have at least a smidgen of discipline to get you moving forward on those actions. We know everyone has at least enough discipline to at a minimum, get started on these small steps towards improving our discipline.
Related: The Definition of Self-Discipline
1 – Create a Compelling Reason to Be Disciplined
One of the most powerful catalysts we’ve experienced in improving our self-discipline, was in creating a compelling reason to stick to those disciplines. The best way we’ve found to do this, was to take the time to think about and outline our goals for the next 12 months.
The most important aspect of setting these goals was to ensure that they were goals that really brought excitement into our lives. We wanted to ensure they were goals that excited us, goals that if (and when) reached, would add a level of amazingness to our lives. So needless to say, the goals you need to create must be so enticing, so exciting, that you will be compelled to take action on them.
When you do this, you will have effectively set the stage to stick to your disciplines a little bit better. Dare we say, that after you do this, you may experience (as we did) an almost magical-like tug on you, to take action on your ideas and plans (when needed) until that compelling reason/goal you set up for yourself is realized.
Check out these resources to help you create your compelling reason:
- A basic how-to outline for goal setting from Psychology Today.
- 4 steps for setting powerful goals from Success.com.
- An effective goal setting template that spans 10 years.
2 – Sleep Your Way To Stronger Self-Discipline
We pride ourselves on being Spartan-like, and often force ourselves to work late into the night, instead of sleeping.
Of course, facts are facts, and apparently even Spartans have to sleep too. As such, this step should be an easy one to execute.
Without further ado, the next simple way you can get started on improving your self-discipline is through getting enough sleep. It sounds simple, but when we deprive ourselves of sufficient amounts of sleep, it can significantly impact our ability to focus, it can affect our mood, our judgement, and even our general sense of well-being. Not to mention, when we are not well rested, it can make even the simplest of tasks more difficult to accomplish. So in short, getting sufficient levels of sleep is directly linked with our ability to be self-disciplined.
Last we checked, most people crave sleep, so why not allow yourself the luxury of indulging in at least this one thing?
If you want to go into more depth on sleep deprivation and the impact it can have on your cognitive performance, here are two helpful studies to dig into: Study One & Study Two.
Use these tips to help you get more sleep.
- Start taking naps.
- Stop using a digital device one hour before falling asleep (this one is so hard, but you can do it).
- Sleep no more or no less than 8 hours.
- Have a bed-time routine.
Our next actionable step, like sleep, requires you to keep your eyes shut. However, this step takes quite a bit more effort.
3 – Meditate Your Way to Self-Discipline
Our third tip to strengthen your self-discipline is to meditate. Mediation is a practice of quieting our minds. When done correctly, it can help put our minds at ease, and drown out our hyperactive thoughts. In essence, meditation is actually a practice in disciplining your attention.
Before reading further, if you find that mediation is just too ‘new-age’ a topic for you to even consider, take a look at any of these scientific reviews from the National Institute of Health, webmd.com, and PyschologyToday.com to help you become a believer.
Once done, come on back and I’ll share with you the powerful benefits that mediation can provide to help you improve your self-discipline.
Self-Discipline Benefit 1
The first benefit, is that your mind will gradually become less noisy, allowing for improved focus and clarity. With an improvement in these two areas, you will have a higher tendency to pay attention to the things in your life that really matter. You will have acquired a heightened sense on what is really important and what needs to get done. If you remove your mental distractions, you will set yourself to get more of the right things done. This will in turn, contribute greatly to your ability to become more self-disciplined.
Self-Discipline Benefit 2
The second benefit is that through the practice of meditation itself, you will be simultaneously improving your mental self-discipline. We say this, because meditation is a practice, and it requires you to make and take the time to do it. The great thing is, when you make time to do something as simple as this, on a consistent basis, you are in effect training your ‘self-discipline muscles’.
Self-discipline, like a muscle, can become stronger the more you use it. Similar to how we mentioned early, that being too casual with our self-disciplines can create a downward spiraling effect in our lives (where all other disciplines start to be negatively affected), the same cascading process can occur, but in the opposite direction when the smallest of disciplines (such as mediation) are practiced.
When you start your sessions they don’t have to take up much of your time either. A quality session can take anywhere from 10 minutes to 20 minutes. Of course, the duration is up to you.
Lastly, if you start this habit, there is a good chance you will also experience other great life enhancing benefits. For instance, people who regularly meditate, have reduced levels of negative emotions, reduced levels of stress, improved immune responses, and an increase in overall mental and physical health. Gaim.com has a terrific beginner’s guide to meditation, so if you are really curious about the ins and outs of this practice, we recommend checking it out.
4 – Read Your Way to Self-Discipline
This last step is simple, but powerful. So don’t let it’s simplicity mislead you. So here it is… reading. That’s right, you can read your way to improved self-discipline. Here’s how.
You see, for almost any area in our lives that we want to improve we must first become students of that subject. And as students we must be open to learning as much about those subjects we wish to master. And in this case, you want to master self-discipline.
As such, you should strive to get your hands on as many self-discipline books as you can. Then become a student of those books. Devour them, pick them apart, and put the self-discipline wisdom you find in each book to work for you.
Like we said, simple….but powerful!
If you’re looking for a good place to start, give this list of popular books on discipline a shot.
Self-discipline can Lead to Happiness
One of our favorite mentor’s once stated that the key to getting all we want in life is through self-discipline. He stressed that for every disciplined effort, there are multiple rewards.
We’ve taken this advice to mean, that every discipline affects all other disciplines. When we show discipline, even in the slightest thing, like waking up early, or eating less food, we build our ‘discipline muscles’. These muscles, or rather, habits, start to carry over into other disciplines.
Before we know it, we find ourselves making our bed every morning, making it to meetings on time, actually finishing personal/professional projects we’ve been meaning to wrap up, doing more to help around the house, exercising more, etc., the list will go on and on.
It’s no wonder people who are self-disciplined are happier; they eventually get their lives in order.
Related: The Link Between Self-Control and Success
Conclusion
The great news is this, you can start working on your increased happiness today. You have a starting point. The four steps we’ve included are not the end-all-be-all of habits to hone to improve your self-discipline. These four steps are simply an ideal place to kick off your new journey towards becoming more self-disciplined.
We’ve given you these bite-sized steps to improve your discipline for a reason. Our hope is that they will increase the likelihood that you will actually start following some of these steps. The goal is that you find it easy to begin your new self-discipline project.
If you get started on these four simple disciplines, the day will come when you’d be effortlessly doing those bigger disciplines. The disciplines that truly lead to significant life change, and consequently, significant happiness.
Thus, our last and final takeaway for you is this, that people with high self-discipline are happier than those without. Self-discipline can be your key to happiness.
So, if you are seeking ways to become happier, and if you are open to improving just about every aspect of your life in the process, it appears that there is no faster way to do both, than through the practice of self-discipline.
Till next time,
STRIVE
PS – Self-discipline is the key to happiness, and we have the key to self-discipline. If you want to be more self-disciplined then you need this tool.
Self-Discipline
DEFINING SELF-DISCIPLINE AND WAYS TO MAINTAIN IT
When it comes to finding the appropriate path to success, self discipline is one of the most frequently-used terms. Unfortunately, the majority of people don’t define self-discipline the same way. For some, self-discipline has to do with their ability to avoid laziness. For others, the self-discipline definition means challenging themselves to go above their regular expectations to achieve their goals.
But self-discipline is much more than this, and knowing exactly what the meaning of self-discipline is, and what it isn’t, can make all the difference in how well you wield it for your benefit.
As such, we want to set the record straight and clearly define self-discipline in a way that will bring you the best results. Of course, before we provide you with the most effective personal discipline definition, it’s important to first understand the true denotation of this phrase.
Self-Discipline Defined
So, according to Merriam Webster, the official self discipline definition is the correction or regulation of oneself for the sake of improvement.
While this is a good description that many could use to create to a personal discipline definition when trying to achieve your goals, it isn’t the best definition. The best, and most effective definition for self-discipline, when it comes to the pursuit of our goals is the following:
- A willingness to do whatever it takes to achieve a goal.
- The ability to forgo immediate pleasure, for the exchange of long-term self-respect.
- The ability to do what needs to be done.
Why is it this the most effective definition? Nuance. The subtle distinction between our definition, and the standard definition, is that our definition conveys the gravitas of self-discipline.
Because self-discipline is so much more than just the regulation of oneself for improvement, it should be thought of as such. Otherwise, the true life-changing benefits of having self-discipline may be impaired.
“Discipline Is The Bridge Between Goals And Accomplishment.”
– jim rohn –
Maintaining Self-Discipline
Obviously, simply reading a few definitions of self-discipline isn’t enough to actualize your personal goals. Self-discipline must be applied for it to bare its fruits. Of course, the challenge of self-discipline for everyone, is that it is difficult to maintain. Self-discipline hurts, it’s uncomfortable, and it requires massive amounts of will power and self-control. But we got you covered.
To help you master self-discipline, you’ll need to do more than just define self-discipline, you’ll need to learn how to maintain it. As such, we’ve researched the most effective methods for managing your self-discipline like a pro. So, if you’re new to practicing self discipline, here are a few techniques that can help you take charge of your life, by taking charge of your self-discipline levels.
1. Accept Where You Are
Oftentimes, we have trouble actionizing our goals because we are in denial about where we are. For instance, everyone knows someone whose new year’s resolution is to lose a few pounds. In the beginning, a healthy diet and exercise regimen are fun. However, the monotonous act of going to the gym convinces you that it’s okay to skip a few days. Eventually, you find yourself with the “better luck next year” mentality and never achieve your goal.
When you accept where you are, you’ll try meeting your goals in a more realistic way. Identify where you are, where you want to be, and take gradual steps toward your desired outcome.
Don’t the the gap between where you are and where you want to be discourage you.
2. Cultivate Discipline As a Habit
Discipline is difficult for everyone, especially when you try to go all in making yourself do something new. Often times big changes to our routines or efforts can doom them to fail almost before the start.
Which is why you’ll want to start small with your self-discipline habits. Yes, you’ll want to create habits, but you’ll want to do it in small steps that are easy to put forth daily.
If you want to start going to the gym everyday of the week, first try to make it there two times, then three, and then eventually graduate to five times.
Same goes for work or a side project. Don’t try to go too big to soon on a project. Start small. If you want to start working on a side hustle, start working towards it for just 30 minutes a day every day. And once you’ve created the habit, then stretch it to 45 minutes, and so on and so forth.
That said, if you can create a habit out of those things you most want to do, you’ll stay with them long-term, especially if you start small.
3. Use The Countdown Method
Have you ever seen a movie where the main character only has a few moments to make a big decision? A good example of this is if a hero is being chased by a villain and has to jump a cliff to get away. Typically, they count backwards a few seconds before springing into action.
This is a great approach when it comes to doing something that gets you closer to your goals. For example, if you want to go for a jog, set a timer for a minute. Giving yourself time to mentally shift gears and motivate yourself will raise your level of success. Once the alarm sounds, you use self discipline to take that jog.
Another form of this is Mel Robbin’s 5 second rule. If you’re not familiar with it, be sure to look into it as it’s a simple tool that’s backed by research.[1]
4. Put Your Goals Within Eyesight
When you go to the grocery store, you keep a list of items in order to avoid overspending. The same should apply to your everyday goals. It’s as simple as putting sticky notes with your short and long-term goals in rooms you go to everyday.
You can also make vision boards that will motivate you to achieve your goals. If you respond better to digital reminders, set various alarms throughout the day.
5. Start With Realistic Goals
Sometimes, you lose willpower because you set your goals too high. Say you recently decided to start running in the morning. Waking up one day and signing up for a marathon before you’re prepared can cause both mental and physical harm. People believe that motivation means chasing a dream miles ahead of them.
This isn’t the case. It’s okay to have an ultimate endgame, but you’ll have more success when you set realistic goals. With realistic goals, you have more opportunities to practice your self discipline.
If you need a bit of assistance with understanding and setting realistic goals, just remember to set them up as S.M.A.R.T. goals.[2]
6. Find People to Hold You Accountable
Sometimes, your attempts at self discipline can come up short. Therefore, it’s a good idea to find people you trust to hold you accountable.
You’re less likely to give up or cheat when you have someone to call you out. Loved ones can also give you positive reinforcement when you are practicing self discipline. This is especially beneficial when you’re feeling discouraged about your goals.
7. Leverage Self-Discipline Resources
Sometimes, all we really need to get our self-discipline levels on point is a little inspiration, a good reminder, or even a little active reprogramming. And the best way to do this is to leverage some great self-discipline resources. For example, you good leverage a healthy dose of self-discipline quotes to get inspired. Or, better yet, you could read a book or two about self-discipline and get reminded that you have the power to build your self-discipline levels to your liking.
Or, you can simply take advantage of mantras or affirmations to get your mind right about self-discipline. All of these methods are available to you. Yes, they are simple approaches, but never mistake simplicity for ineffective.
“The Great Master Key To Riches Is Nothing More Or Less Than The Self-Discipline Necessary To Help You Take Full And Complete Possession Of Your Own Mind.”
– napoleon hill –
That said, here are a few self-discipline resources that you can leverage today:
Final Thoughts on Self-Discipline
Without a doubt, practicing self discipline can be difficult, especially for beginners. But, when we define self-discipline, we give ourselves an advantage. And pairing a better definition for self-discipline with these simple yet effective techniques will help you expand your previous personal discipline definition and in doing so, achieve more success.
Even if you have to start with smaller goals, utilizing self discipline will restore your self-confidence for the tougher challenges ahead. Whether you go about it alone or with a loved one, these lifestyles changes will drastically improve your overall quality of life.
Till next time,
STRIVE
Self-Discipline
7 DAILY HABITS TO HELP YOU BUILD SELF-DISCIPLINE
Self-discipline is one of the most important life skills a person possess. It’s one of those traits that impacts just about every area of our lives. When we have it under control, it positively compounds for us; impacting our sleep, nutrition, habits, and our efforts. But, the opposite is also true, when it’s neglected, the negative effects will cascade to downward to every area of our lives. As such, it is imperative to learn how to build self-discipline.
“Without Self-Discipline, Success is Impossible, Period.”
– Lou Holtz –
Now, developing self-discipline takes thoughtful and intentional work. It requires a high level of focus that is essential for success in nearly every phase of life. That said, we’ve pulled together some of the best daily habits you can adopt today to make building self-discipline a breeze. So, if you’re ready to learn about these key habits, then let’s get right to it.
How to Build Self-Discipline
1. Set Small Goals Daily
Goals are different for everyone, some people have small goals and some have large goals. However, committing to and working towards goals can level up your self-discipline faster than almost any other method.
However, since small goals are more easily accomplished and get used to that feeling of accomplishment sooner. Things like sending an email to a client or changing your bed linen may be small or things you’ve put off. Making them a goal and accomplishing them will give you the feeling of success.
The small goals that you create daily should be in the form of a “to-do” list. When you have completed a goal, you are building discipline.
2. Keep Your Goals In Front of You
There are so many distractions in our everyday life. From smartphones and social media to television and radio, shiny objects are dangling in front of us at every turn. Having our goals in our face where we can see them daily helps keep us focused.
So don’t hesitate to write those goals on post-it notes, have them on your mirror, create an elaborate vision board, use your screensaver, or paste them to your headboard.
Whatever works for you, what you see daily is what you work to manifest. Keeping your goals in front of you helps you visualize and eventually manifest.
Related: Why You Must Write Down Your Goals
3. Learn How To Prioritize
What you have to do daily or even monthly all have a certain priority level in your life. Understanding what is essential and what is less relevant is essential to your success. When everything seems important, the number one tip is that you cannot do everything. Aside from that, some tips to prioritizing are:
- Deciding what’s urgent, what important and what you want to do but can wait.
- Get your job list out of your head and down on paper – create a “to-do” list.
- Group similar tasks together.
- Figure out how you will deal with distractions.
- Get to work.
4. Understand Adversity
Adversity is when we face hardship, difficulty, misfortune, or an overall tough time during specific periods in life. Sometimes trouble can get us off track or distract us from achieving goals. Everyone faces adversity at some point in their lives.
Understanding how adversity will impact us, can help us foresee what we must do, how we should plan for it when it comes. By thinking forward about our potential adversities and understanding how we’ll react when they come, will keep us on track when the disruptions inevitably come.
Related: Link Between Self-Control and Success
5. Remove Distractions
Distractions can be anything from your cell phones, your neighbor’s lawnmower to social media notifications. Understanding how distractions affect you and can keep you from performing your job are essential.
However, more important than recognizing distractions is removing them. If necessary, put your phone in another room while you work. If you are working from home, you can set a kitchen clock for the amount of time you want to work without distraction.
The trick is to remove the distraction or temptation long before it happens. Removing distractions is a habit that puts you in control of uninterrupted time to work towards your goals.
6. Know Your Weaknesses
We all have weaknesses. Sometimes they are self-imposed, temptations, and other times they are triggers. However, when we are honest about our weaknesses and the things we struggle with, we understand how to keep ourselves out of certain situations and create habits of self-discipline.
Learning how to build self-discipline helps those confronted with situations that may work against their goals. They are honest with themselves and continuously work towards success.
Related: Best Books on Building Discipline
7. Use An Accountability Partner
Accountability is taking responsibility for your life and your goals. Having an accountability friend is about more than someone to cosign all your thoughts and actions. They don’t just pat you on the back when you reach goals. An accountability friend brings positivity into your life with positive reactions. Other benefits of an accountability friend are:
Give a different perspective on your goals.
An accountable friend can serve as an independent eyewitness of your goals and how being self-disciplined guides your decisions.
Helps you stay motivated.
An accountability friend is like having your cheerleader. They encourage you to keep going.
Helps you strategize and plan.
Accountability friends are uniquely suited to help you strategize and plan out your goals. They allow you to understand how your plan to get from point A to point B is attainable.
Serves as a reminder.
An accountable friend is more powerful than a vision board. They are vocal advocates for your goals and will remind you why you are on a particular path.
Other Benefits of Self-Discipline
Self-discipline gives you the strength to persevere, helps you stay motivated, and keeps you from giving in to negative thoughts and feelings. It is that ability you have to make yourself do what needs to be done, even when you don’t want to do them.
There are numerous other benefits of developing and using self-discipline. Benefits like the following:
- You are more likely to achieve long-term goals.
- It promotes academic success.
- It helps you maintain focus.
- It makes you mentally healthier.
- You feel more resilient.
- You feel happier.
- It helps you make better decisions.
Bonus Resource for Discipline
Alright, here’s one last resource to help you build your discipline. It’s a short video that gives a handful of extremely helpful tips that will undoubtedly help you on your journey to master self-discipline. Enjoy!
Video Credit: Thomas Frank (Subscribe Here)
Final Thoughts on Building Self-Discipline
As mentioned earlier, choosing to build self-discipline takes thoughtful and intentional work that is essential for success in nearly every phase of life and has several benefits, among them promoting academic success, making you mentally healthy, and helping you feel healthier.
Related: Inspiring Discipline Quotes
While developing self-discipline is about more than just cutting bad habits, it is an attainable trait. There are many ways to develop self-discipline, but these seven daily habits are probably the best place to start.
These habits are setting small goals daily, keeping your goals in your face where you can see them, learning how to prioritize goals, understanding adversity and ways to deal with it, knowing your weaknesses, and getting yourself an accountability partner. Once you make these daily habits a part of your life, you will have achieved the discipline to knock just about all of your goals out of the park.
Till you reach your aims,
STRIVE
PS – If you enjoyed this article on how to build self-discipline, then there’s a good chance you’ll love this article on the link between self-discipline and happiness.
Quotes
100+ SELF-DISCIPLINE QUOTES TO HELP YOU ACHIEVE UNLIMITED SUCCESS
Self-discipline; the real ‘secret’ to success. If ever there were a true magical ingredient to achieve success, self-discipline would be it. In fact, Andrew Carnegie, who was one of the richest men in modern history, commissioned a man by the name of Napoleon Hill to seek out the richest and most successful people across the land in the early days of the 20th century.
“Self-Discipline Attracts Opportunity”
Can you guess what the common denominator was in Napoleon Hill’s decades long study of what lead to success? If you guessed self-discipline, you’d be right. Napoleon Hill ultimately concluded that self-discipline is truly THE starting point of all great achievements.
In addition to this discovery, self-discipline has been referenced time and time again by those who have accomplished greatly and have achieved massive success. Self-discipline is indeed, the bridge between goals and accomplishment.
Unfortunately, this is a truth that has also been ignored by way too many people to the detriment of their accomplishments.
But, we are firm believers that self-discipline attracts opportunity. We believe that if you use discipline to develop your skills and make a disciplined effort towards your ambitions, there is no doubt that exciting opportunities will inevitably open up for you.
Self-discipline undoubtedly leads to triumph, which is why we’ve rounded up this list of the absolute best self-discipline quotes of all-time. Our hope is that these discipline quotes will help tattoo in your mind with the real secret behind achieving staggering success, so you can get on with achieving yours.
BEST 100+ SELF-DISCIPLINE QUOTES
1. “The great master key to riches is nothing more or less than the self-discipline necessary to help you take full and complete possession of your own mind.” – Napoleon Hill
2. “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.” – Jim Rohn
3. “We do today what they won’t, so tomorrow we can accomplish what they can’t.” – Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson
4. “Winners embrace hard work. They love the discipline of it, the trade-off they’re making to win. Losers, on the other hand, see it as a punishment. And that’s the difference.” – Lou Holtz
5. “Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all.” – George Washington
6. “A disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering.” – Dalai Lama
7. “The successful person has the habit of doing the things failures don’t like to do. They don’t like doing them either necessarily. But their disliking is subordinated to the strength of their purpose.” – E.M. Gray
8. “The only discipline that lasts is self-discipline.” – Bum Philips
9. “Success is a result of daily disciplines compounded over time.” – Darren Hardy
10. “With self-discipline, most anything is possible.” – Theodore Roosevelt
11. “There is no easy way. There is only hard work, late nights, early mornings, practice, rehearsal, repetition, study, sweat, blood, toil, frustration, and discipline.” – Jocko Willink
12. “We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret and disappointment.” – Jim Rohn
13. “I could only achieve success in my life through self-discipline, and I applied it until my wish and my will became one.” – Nikola Tesla
14. “Self-command is the main discipline.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
15. “One discipline always leads to another discipline.” – Jim Rohn
16. “Without self-discipline, success is impossible, period.” – Lou Holtz
17. “He who lives without discipline dies without honor.” Icelandic Proverb
18. “The price of excellence is discipline. The cost of mediocrity is disappointment.” – William Arthur Ward
19. “You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” – Marcus Aurelius
20. “Self-discipline is the No.1 delineating factor between the rich, the middle class, and the poor.” – Robert Kiyosaki
21. “Confidence comes from discipline and training.” – Robert Kiyosaki
22. “Success is a matter of understanding and religiously practicing specific simple habits that always lead to success.” – Robjert J. Ringer
23. “Success doesn’t just happen. You have to be intentional about it, and that takes discipline.” – John C. Maxwell
24. “No man is fit to command another that cannot command himself.” – William Penn
25. “Most talk about ‘super-geniuses’ is nonsense. I have found that when ‘stars’ drop out, successors are usually at hand to fill their places, and the successors are merely men who have learned by application and self-discipline to get full production from an average, normal brain.”- Charles M. Schwab
26. “Discipline is the foundation of a successful and happy life.” – Anonymous
27. “True freedom is impossible without a mind made free by discipline.” – Mortimer J. Adler
28. “Self-control is the chief element in self-respect, and self-respect is the chief element in courage.” – Thucydides
29. “You will never have a greater or lesser dominion than that over yourself…the height of a man’s success is gauged by his self-mastery; the depth of his failure by his self-abandonment. …And this law is the expression of eternal justice. He who cannot establish dominion over himself will have no dominion over others.” – Leonardo da Vinci
30. “The first and greatest victory is to conquer self.” – Plato
31. “We must do our work for its own sake, not for fortune or attention or applause.” – Steven Pressfield
32. “One painful duty fulfilled makes the next plainer and easier.” – Hellen Keller
33. “Self-respect is the fruit of discipline; the sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself.” – Abraham J. Heschel
34. “Do not consider painful what is good for you.” – Euripides
35. “Those who have nothing have only their discipline.” – Alain Badiou
36. “Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day.” – Jim Rohn
“Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day.” – Jim Rohn
Tweet Quote37. “It is time to reverse this prejudice against conscious effort and to see the powers we gain through practice and discipline as eminently inspiring and even miraculous.” – Robert Greene
38. “With this magic ingredient, you can accomplish anything and everything you want to, and it is called self-discipline.” – Brian Tracy
39. “Do not bite at the bait of pleasure till you know there is no hook beneath it.” – Thomas Jefferson
40. “Great leaders always have self-discipline -without exception.” – John C. Maxwell
41. “Mental toughness is many things and rather difficult to explain. Its qualities are sacrifice and self-denial. Also, most importantly, it is combined with a perfectly disciplined will that refuses to give in. It’s a state of mind-you could call it character in action.” – Vince Lombardi
42. “Respect your efforts, respect yourself. Self-respect leads to self-discipline. When you have both firmly under your belt, that’s real power.” – Clint Eastwood
43. “Success is actually a short race – a sprint fueled by discipline just long enough for habit to kick in and take over.” – Gary Keller
44. “By constant self-discipline and self-control you can develop greatness of character.” – Grenville Kleiser
45. “He who cannot obey himself will be commanded. That is the nature of living creatures.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
46. “Most powerful is he who has himself in his own power.” – Seneca
47. “It is not enough to have great qualities; We should also have the management of them.” – La Rochefoucauld
48. “Discipline really means our ability to get ourselves to do things when we don’t want to.” – Arden Mahlberg
49. “Your level of success is determined by your level of discipline and perseverance.” – Anonymous
50. “That aim in life is highest which requires the highest and finest discipline.” – Henry David Thoreau
Ready To Go Out and Conquer The World Yet?
We don’t know about you, but after reading through these first 50 discipline quotes, we are about ready to go out and conquer the world. But don’t stop reading just yet on our account.
By all means, continue pounding your mind with these last 50 self-discipline quotes. Let them saturate your mind so you can go forth and be victorious with your renewed levels of self-discipline!
51. “Self-discipline is about controlling your desires and impulses while staying focused on what needs to get done to achieve your goal.” – Adam Sicinski
52. “Discipline yourself to do the things you need to do when you need to do them, and the day will come when you will be able to do the things you want to do when you want to do them.” – Zig Ziglar
53. “All successes begin with self-discipline. It starts with you.” – Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
54. “Self-discipline is that which, next to virtue, truly and essentially raises one man above another.” – Joseph Addison
55. “The center of bringing any dream into fruition, is self-discipline.” – Will Smith
56. “The more disciplined you become, the easier life gets.” – Steve Pavlina
57. “Self-discipline is the ability to make yourself do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not.” – Elbert Hubbard
58. “In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves…self-discipline with all of them came first.” – Harry S. Truman
59. “If it were easy to walk the path of self-discipline, we wouldn’t gain much from it.” – Glenn C. Stewart
60. “Discipline is built by consistently performing small acts of courage.” – Robin Sharma
61. “Discipline is the ability to control our conduct by principle rather than by social pressure.” – Glenn C. Stewart
62. “Self-respect is the fruit of discipline; the sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself.” – Abraham J. Heschel
63. “We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.” – Jesse Owens
64. “Discipline is the silent force at work that breeds success. It requires only one thing; that you sacrifice time in things you enjoy.” – Anonymous
65. “We don’t have to be smarter than the rest; we have to be more disciplined than the rest.” – Warren Buffett
66. “Never believe a promise from a man or woman who has no discipline. They have broken a thousand promises to themselves, and they break their promise for you.” – Matthew Kelly
67. “If the self-discipline of the free cannot match the iron discipline of the mailed fist-in economic, political, scientific and all other kinds of struggles as well as the military-then the peril to freedom will continue to rise.” – John F. Kennedy
68. “Self-discipline is the root quality that will improve every aspect of your life.” – Jocko Willink
69. “Success is measured by your discipline and inner peace.” – Mike Ditka
70. “Self-control is strength, right thought is mastery, calmness is power.” – James Allen
71. “Motivation gets you going, but discipline keeps you growing.” – John C. Maxwell
72. “Discipline without freedom is tyranny. Freedom without discipline is chaos.” – Cullen Hightower
73. “By constant self-discipline and self-control you can develop greatness of character.” – Grenville Kleiser
74. “Self-discipline is a self-enlarging process.” – M. Scott Peck
75. “Not being able to govern events, I govern myself.” – Michel De Montaigne
76. “Self control is the key to self esteem and self confidence.” – Laurance McGraw V
77. “Small disciplines repeated with consistency every day lead to great achievements gained slowly over time.” – John C. Maxwell
78. “Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
79. “If you wish to be out front, then act as if you were behind.” – Lao Tzu
80. “It’s all right letting yourself go, as long as you can get yourself back.” – Mick Jagger
81. “Success is created through the performance of a few small daily disciplines that stack up over time to produce achievements far beyond anything you could of ever planned for. Failure, on the other hand, is just as easy to slip into. Failure’s is nothing more than the inevitable outcome of a few small acts of daily neglect performed consistently over time so that they take you past the point of no return.” – Robin Sharma
82. “Self-discipline is an act of cultivation. It requires you to connect today’s actions to tomorrow’s results. There’s a season for sowing a season for reaping. Self-discipline helps you know which is which.” – Gary Ryan Blair
83. “Self-discipline creates a brighter tomorrow.” – Anonymous
84. “Self-discipline begins with the mastery of thought. If you do not control your thoughts, you cannot control your needs. Self-discipline calls for a balancing of the emotions of your heart with the reasoning faculty of your head.” – Napoleon Hill
85. “Trophies should go to the winners. Self-esteem does not lead to success in life. Self-discipline and self-control do, and sports can help teach those.” – Roy Baumeister
86. “The individual who wants to reach the top in business must appreciate the might and force of habit. He must be quick to break those habits that can break him—and hasten to adopt those practices that will become the habits that help him achieve the success he desires.” – J. Paul Getty
87. “It is better to conquer self than to win a thousand battles.” – Buddha
88. “The good Lord gave you a body that can stand most anything. It’s your mind you have to convince.” – Vince Lombardi
89. “Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
90. “If we don’t discipline ourselves, the world will do it for us.” – William Feather
91. “When a man is sufficiently motivated, discipline will take care of itself.” – Albert Einstein
92. “No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined.” – Harry Emerson Fosdick
93. “It’s never crowded along the extra mile.” – Wayne Dyer
94. “I think self-discipline is something, it’s like a muscle. The more you exercise it, the stronger it gets.” Daniel Goldstein
95. “He conquers twice who conquers himself in victory.” – Jyrus
96. “Self-discipline is the magic power that makes you virtually unstoppable.” – Dan Kennedy
“Self-discipline is the magic power that makes you virtually unstoppable.” – Dan Kennedy
Tweet Quote97. “It doesn’t matter whether you are pursuing success in business, sports, the arts, or life in general: The bridge between wishing and accomplishing is discipline.” – Harvey Mackay
98. “I don’t count my sit-ups, I only start counting when it starts hurting, when I feel pain, that’s when I start counting, cause that’s when it really counts.” – Muhammad Ali
99. “What it lies in our power to do, it lies in our power not do.” – Aristotle
100. “Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power.” – Lao Tzu
101. “I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self.” – Aristotle
102. “Rule your mind or it will rule you.” – Horace
103. “Self-discipline is the center of all material success. You can’t win the war against the world if you can’t win the war against your own mind.” – Will Smith
104. “In this life there are countless trails to self-realization, though most demand intense discipline, so very few take them.” – David Goggins
105. “If I want to be great I have to win the victory over myself…self-discipline.” – Harry S. Truman
106. “What we do upon some great occasion will probably depend on what we already are: and what we are will be the result of previous years of self-discipline.” – H.P. Liddon
107. “The pain of discipline weighs ounces, but the pain of regret weighs tons.” – Darren Hardy
108. “Discipline is the refining fire by which talent becomes ability.” – Roy L. Smith
109. “Self-discipline is when your conscience tells you to do something and you don’t talk back.” – W.K. Hope
110. “Self-discipline is the architect of accomplishment.” – The STRIVE
111. “There is no magic wand that can resolve our problems. The solution rests with our work and discipline.” – Jose Eduardo Dos Santos
112. “There is no luck except where there is discipline.” – Irish Proverb
113. “Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want most.” – Abraham Lincoln
114. “Discipline is consistency of action.” – James C. Collins
115. “Discipline is wisdom and vice versa.” – M. Scott Peck
116. “Self-Discipline means living your life the hard way: resisting temptations and instant gratification, in order to receive bigger and better rewards in the future.” – Martin Meadows
117. “The obstacle in the path becomes the path. Never forget, within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition.” – Ryan Holiday
118. “Self-discipline is easy when you have a vision that pulls you.” – Nathan Lee Morales
119. “There are two disciplines in life. There is the pain of discipline and the pain of disappointment. If you can handle the pain of discipline, then you’ll never have to deal with the pain of disappointment.” – Nick Saban
120. “Discipline is doing what you hate to do, but nonetheless doing it like you love it.” – Mike Tyson
121. “The first step to getting rich requires discipline. If you really want to be rich, you need to find the discipline.” – Mark Cuban
Bonus Discipline Quote
Bonus: Alright, here is our last and final discipline quote which we decided to include as a bonus because it does such a good job hitting the nail on the head when it comes to self-discipline. Enjoy!
“Discipline Equals Freedom.”
– Jocko Willink –
Achieve More With These Discipline Quotes
We all know what we want, we just don’t like the uncomfortable pain it takes to obtain those things we want most. Unfortunately, when we shrug off discipline, we shrug off our ability to reach our goals. In a sense, we fail. Although it may not seem like a big fail, if we let enough of those little failures compound over time, they will eventually turn into the types of big failures that we all want to avoid.
Our hope is that this list of self-discipline quotes will help you avoid such failure, because what is failure but a consequence of a long list of accrued little failures which happen as a result of too little discipline. Brian Tracy once said….
“The Habit of Self-Discipline Virtually Guarantees Your Success in Life.”
Now, we can either develop the habit of losing, or the habit of winning. So, let’s develop the habit of winning, let’s develop the habit of self-discipline.
With that being said, we hope these quotes on self-discipline serve you in creating the habit of self-discipline. Let them guide you towards becoming your very best and achieving more success.
Till you reach your aims,
STRIVE
PS – If these self-discipline quotes inspired you, please consider being that friend who supports and encourages success in others, by sharing this page with them. Lastly, if you enjoyed these discipline quotes, then you’ll love these Quotes on Effort.
Self-Discipline
15 BEST BOOKS TO BUILD SELF-DISCIPLINE AND MASTER SELF-CONTROL (2023)
Ahhh, self-discipline, that pain-in-the-a** success attribute that most of us wish were easier to wield. If I told you there was a pill you could take to increase your self-discipline, would you want one?
Hahaha, so would I.
Unfortunately, there is no pill.
But, I do have something for you that is far better than some easy peasy pill. In fact, I have 15 of them for you.
And I am confident you could benefit from them.
How can I be so sure?
STATISTICS
Statistics. Statistically speaking, 92% of people who set goals at the beginning of each year, don’t achieve them (University of Scranton.) That stat alone, says so much about the state of our collective self-discipline.
It reveals that most people can’t stick to a simple goal they set out to achieve.
How is it that so many people fail to achieve what they really want?
I mean, nobody sets a goal they don’t think they can achieve.
Nobody sets a goal around something they don’t sincerely want either.
Yet, so many still fail to reach the simple goals they set for themselves, year after year.
And what about the big goals? Let’s not even go there.
THE CAUSE?
Here’s the most likely culprit. When the results we go after don’t come fast enough, and we realize what we’re chasing seems like more of a hassle than we first imagined, we second-guess ourselves. And as we continue to pursue our goals, we slowly begin making up our minds that the pain of consistent self-discipline is a cost we aren’t willing to pay. The pain bests us.
So, what do we do?
We stop striving for our goal.
If that scenario sounds familiar, then you’ve had your own struggles with self-discipline. In short, self-discipline is likely hard for you.
But, you don’t have to feel too bad about it (just a little bad), because you are not alone. Self-discipline is painful for just about everyone. But just because it’s painful, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive to find more of it.
Truth is, self-discipline is a pain that is good for you. It’s so good for you that it really shouldn’t be seen as pain at all.
Like Euripides said…. “Do not consider painful what is good for you.”
NO PAIN NO GAIN
My friend, self-discipline is a worthy characteristic to improve. It’s worthy because it has the power to lead you from where you are now, to where you want to be, faster than any other human quality.
Self-discipline is a force to be reckoned with. When it is strong, it will keep you moving forward, progressing towards your goals till you hit them.
On the flip side, self-discipline is also something everyone struggles with at some point in their lives. And when it’s weak your achievements will be meek.
So go big, keep going for those big goals, but make sure your self-discipline is strong before you do so.
Why? Because trying to achieve a goal without self-discipline, is like trying to ride a bicycle across a hilly countryside and expecting to get up the harder, steeper hills without peddling.
It’s just not going to happen. Which is why goal achievement without self-discipline is impossible.
Fortunately, you can build and craft your self-discipline to your liking. And you can do it in a short amount of time.
The more you build it, the more and more achievements you’re likely to see in your life.
And I have just the thing to help you begin building your self-discipline.
Here are 14 self-discipline books you should read to help you fortify your self-discipline.
You’ll strengthen your discipline just by reading them, because it takes discipline to read books.
But, you’ll also gain powerful self-discipline mindset insights, insights that will help you become the master over your very own.
So here you go my friends, 15 stepping stones to higher and better levels of self-discipline.
15 BEST BOOKS ON DISCIPLINE
[Each book featured has been independently selected and reviewed by our editorial team. If you make a purchase using the links below, we may earn commission.]
1. The Compound Effect
‘The Compound Effect’ is like a manifesto for self-discipline. The author of this book is Darren Hardy, who is the former publisher of SUCCESS Magazine, a serial entrepreneur, mutli-millionaire, and the author of a few other books. And you know what? This guy knows a thing or two about success and self-discipline.
Darren sums it up well in his book when he gives the formula for how to create radical change in our lives. The formula is this: “Small smart choices + Consistency + Time = RADICAL DIFFERENCE”
Small smart choices come down to small daily self-disciplines.
This book is worth the read because it will help you realize that it is the small everyday choices you make, not the big disciplines, that determine the size of your achievements.
After reading this, self-discipline will seem less daunting, more manageable, and perhaps even a bit attractive. Get this book, and let Darren sell you on the power of self-discipline and it can do to transform the outcome of your life.
2. Mastery
‘Mastery’ is a masterpiece. This book was authored by Robert Greene, and it covers a wide spectrum of ideas that coalesces around what it takes to become a master. A master of your craft, your profession, a master of your life.
Much of the material in the book is pulled from the author’s vast knowledge of historical and modern masters to help you realize what it takes to become a master, the likes of Mozart, Leonardo Da Vinci, Goethe, John Coltrane, Marcel Proust, and many others.
He demonstrates that Mastery is a simple process that is accessible to anyone who is willing to put in the time, effort, dedication and sacrifice to create masterful work.
His reference to Leonardo Da Vinci’s motto, Ostinato Rigore, meaning stubborn rigor sums up what kind of self-discipline is required to achieve your life’s task (your purpose).
To strengthen your self-discipline and learn what it takes to become the master of your fate, this is definitely book you should digest.
3. The Willpower Instinct
‘The Willpower Instinct‘ approaches self-discipline and self-control from a more academic stand point. It’s a good self discipline book, but if I am honest, it’s quite boring to read.
If you are true student of self-discipline and self-control though, it will be worth it.
It’s worth your time because it will help you gain clarity on why self-discipline seems so challenging to master for so many people. The clarity gained from this book can lead to better decisions, and better decisions always leads to better results.
4. The Master Key to Riches
This book is a powerful book for building self-discpline. Every chapter provides insight upon insight on the habits and types of efforts that are required for you to achieve more in life.
The most important chapter though, is chapter 12, because it deals solely with self-discipline. Chapter 12 makes a strong case for why you should work on becoming self-disciplined, especially if wealth, success, and riches are things you are striving for.
And let’s be honest, money, success, and power are things we’re all striving for. So give this one a read, and learn why self-discipline is the master key to riches. Then put what you learn to use, and build the rich and abundant life you deserve for yourself.
5. The War of Art
In my opinion, out of all of the best books on discipline, this one is the best. However, this book is listed and #5 because it was primarily written for creative types who know the self-sabotaging challenges that come with trying to create great work consistently.
Even if you are not an artist, author, or entrepreneur, this book will help you realize the struggle to create is real, but that it can be conquered.
I believe this book is for everyone because we are all creators, creators and designers of our own lives.
Now the author doesn’t call out self-discipline directly through the book, rather, he positions it as “Resistance”. But, through his concept of “Resistance” clearly communicates how you must commit to your work, to becoming a pro, and how when you do, you’ll be applying the self-discipline you’ve needed to do what you’ve always wanted.
It’s a good kick in the pants that will help you deal with your self-discipline challenges in an effective way. So give it read.
6. The Practicing Mind
If you are looking for a new perspective on how to build your self-discipline, then this book is for you. Thomas M. Sterner makes a strong case for the importance mindset plays on how self-disciplined we are. He does a good job relating his personal experiences with mastering golf, piano lessons, and book writing, using the practicing mind process.
You’ll learn that with the right awareness and mindset, you can better master just about anything. His biggest urging is to learn to love the process of whatever it is you are seeking to accomplish, to do so, is to develop a practicing mind.
And when you’ve developed a practicing mind, the self-discipline and focus we all struggle with, becomes easier to wield.
A slow read, but it has some gems in it for sure.
7. Willpower: Rediscovering The Greatest Human Strength
Roy Baumeister is highly admired psychologists who teamed up with the renowned New York Times science writer, John Tierney, to create what is in a sense a self-control manifesto. Both authors do a great job of taking their vast knowledge of people and human psychology, to effectively sum up the power of willpower.
They give great examples of how we can refuel our willpower, and create effective habits that can actually make it easier for us to control ourselves. In short, you’ll learn the science behind self-control and many new and unique methods to help you master yours.
All in all, it’s a great book to read and an excellent building block to help you level up your self-discipline.
8. Think and Grow Rich
This book belongs in almost every self-improvement category, but it really shines when it comes to self-discipline.
When you read this book, you’ll gain a new awareness to success, gaining riches, and all that other achievement jazz. But most importantly, it will drill the point home, that no success, no great riches, no high achievements can be made if you have not mastered your thoughts.
And sure enough, the mastery of your thoughts comes down to your ability to discipline your mind on how to think, what to allow into your mind, and what kind of thoughts you should consistently be focusing on to achieve your goals.
This book is a must-read for the true seeker of success and self-discipline.
9. No Excuses: The Power of Self-Discipline
Brian Tracy has been around for a very long time, but his book on discipline, ‘No Excuses’ is still a great starting place if you are ambitious, just finishing up your schooling, or about to get started in the working world.
He’s a pretty much a ‘self-development guru’, since he’s been at this for so long. He covers many success maxims you’ve probably already heard, but he does a good job of tying them all together around the subject of self-discipline.
Reading this book will help you realize the value self-discipline plays in just about every area of our life.
10. The Power of Habit
Charles Duhigg does a great job illuminating the complexity of the science behind our habits and breaking it down into digestible insights.
You’ll learn that the bulk of what we does is governed by our habits, and how with a little bit of disciplined awareness, you can master the art of turning bad habits into good ones.
So, if you are have some bad habits you need to change, or some new habits you need to create, and want to ensure you have the discipline to see them through, get this book, it is the ultimate cheat sheet for mastering your habits.
11. The Warrior Ethos
This book not your typical book on discipline. It’s about an approach to life, it’s about an ethos.
It’s about an ethos that has become less and less apart of modern-day culture, yet, is the exact ethos most fit to help you embrace the struggles and toil of your every aspiration.
The tenets of the Warrior Ethos, directed inward, can inspire you to fight against and conquer the enemies that can be found within our own hearts and minds.
I highly recommend this book. It’s not a book 100% dedicated to self-discipline, so don’t expect a bunch of science and data. But, you can expect to be inspired and fired up to gain the discipline of a Spartan.
Read this book and gain the mental toughness you’ll need, if you want to have the self-discipline of a champion.
12. Self-Discipline
Coming in at number 12 on our list of books for building self-discipline is aptly named… ‘Self-Discipline’. This is a newer self-discipline book, but it deserves mentioning as it is jam packed with powerful principles that can help you build the mental toughness and tightened mental focus that lead to achievement. It is truly a simple and easy read, and gets right to the point on what self-discipline is and how anyone can get more of it.
Out of all of our best books on discipline, this book has been listed because it does a phenomenal job helping the reader learn that self-discipline is more than just a skillset, it is a lifestyle. And in my opinion, once you’ve accepted this fact and truly understand it… your ability to become the master of yourself and by extension, your fate will be transformed.
13. Make Your Bed
Make Your Bed is by far one of the more popular books on self-discipline and life improvement in general. It’s has garnered the prestigious title of a NY Times Best Seller, which we believe is a well deserved title. The author of Make Your Bed is Admiral William H. McRaven. And he wrote this book after giving a commencement speech that went viral. The message he conveyed it that commencement speech, and what he lays forth in this book, is about how the little things make a big difference in how our life turns out.
It’s is certainly not an academic book as it contains various short stories and anecdotes for life. However, it is a book that will at the very least inspire you to do the little things a little bit better and a little more consistently. And this will ultimately help you change your life. After all, that’s what self-discipline is all about, isn’t it? Consistently doing the little things.
14. The Science of Self-Discipline
Best-selling author and human psychology researcher Peter Hollins has created a one-of-a-kind resource with his book The Science of Self-Discipline. As someone who has studied high performance individuals for over a decade, Hollins really nails the psychology and science behind behind self-discipline in this book.
His book provides an 11 chapter road map that will help you understand everything from how your biology, habits, mindset, and environment can and will impact your discipline levels. As such, this discipline book comes highly recommended and should be added to your reading list as well, if you have yet to read it.
15. The Marshmallow Test
Walter Mischel is one of the world’s leading experts on self-control. His groundbreaking work on self-control (a.k.a. the famous marshmallow test) has helped him get cited more than any other psychologist when it comes to self-control, as he’s shown better than anybody else, the direct link that exists between delayed gratification and one’s ability to create a successful life for themselves.
With that said, this is a great book to study if you’re looking to master self-discipline and self-control, as Mischel provides countless antidotes and strategies that just about anyone can implement to gain mastery of both.
Bonus Self-Discipline Book: Discipline Equals Freedom
Sometimes, what we all really need to get the discipline we want is the cold hard truth. And that is exactly what Jocko Willink lays down for us in his book Discipline Equals Freedom. Hands down this is one of the best books on discipline.
This book is a must have for every discipline seeking individual, because Jocko speaks truth. No doubt, you may find what he has to say abrasive, maybe even a bit too straight-forward. But if you are truly seeking discipline, then you should be okay with his methods. Why? Because the ends justify the means.
This is a self-help book we all need to read in this day and age. And at the moment out of all of these books on discipline, this one is currently my favorite. It’s a book that will help you discipline your thoughts, which will then help you discipline your actions. So, if you’re ready to learn the simple truths about self-discipline, truths that will lead to disciplined action, then this book is for you.
GO FORTH AND BUILD YOUR SELF-DISCIPLINE
There you have it friends, the 15 best books on discipline that can help you improve your self-discipline and self-control. But don’t just let your learning lead to knowledge, let your learning lead to action. And for some bonus methods to discipline your thoughts, be sure to check out these highly effective discipline affirmations, and our highly popular discipline quotes.
Remember, all successful people are highly disciplined people. All unsuccessful people are usually undisciplined and unable to control their actions and appetites.
So, read these self discipline books, leverage your resources, and put what you learn into action, so when they talk about the 8% of people who follow through on their goals, they’ll be talking about you.
Till next time,
STRIVE
PS – These are the best books on discipline, no doubt about it! But if you’re looking for something to truly help you BE self-disciplined NOW, self-disciplined enough to actually achieve the big harry audacious goals you’ve set for yourself, then this is for you.
Motivation
10 WAYS TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS IN 2023
Setting goals is a crucial part of success. No matter what you want to achieve in life, be it in your career, relationships, or in business, identifying what you want to achieve and then making a plan to move toward that destination is one of the most important steps of all.
When you know what you want and the exact outcome you desire, you can then create a plan and take action to get there. This is why setting goals works. Extraordinary people are able to produce amazing results in life because they have a clear goal that they want to achieve in mind. They know what they want, and then they get to work on their goals, every single day.
With that being said, if you want to master yourself, achieve greater results in life, and ultimately make your dreams a reality, you’ll need to learn how to set and achieve your goals. So, here the top 10 ways to achieve your goals in 2023. Enjoy!
Top 10 Ways To Achieve Your Goals This Year
1. Always Keep Your Goals in Your Mind
One of the most common reasons why some people fail at their goals while others succeed at them, is that those who successfully achieved their goals are really adept at keeping their goals top of mind.
Of course, this is easier said than done. But, it is backed up by the one of the most well-known success phrases of all-time…“You become what you think about most of the time”. It’s a phrase that conveys the fact that your life is organized around your thoughts. Hence, your dominant thoughts will determine how you will live your life.
If you always think about having not enough money, guess what, you will not be having enough money. You will find it hard to come up with extra money and there are always more days left at the end of the money.
Your thoughts dictate your life. Tony Robbins once said, “Where you focus goes, energy flows”, thus, if you always think about your goals and focus on them, that’s what you will create in your life. So, always choose to consciously think about your goals.
This is why you need to write down your goals, review them, visualize them, and see yourself achieve them. Make a vision board for your goals if you want to.
2. Make Sure Your Goals Align With Your Inner Values
Next up on the list of top 10 ways to achieve your goals is to ensure they align with your values. Yes, you have to make sure your goals align with your inner values. You don’t want to set a goal that is not in harmony with your values.
For example, if you are someone who values security more than adventure, setting a goal like traveling alone around the world may not work for you. Even if you force yourself to do it, you will not enjoy the progress and the experience.
Here’s another example, many people set income goals. And if money isn’t their main purpose, their goals will never work. They will find it hard to come up with the drive to put themselves into action and they will find ways to sabotage their own success.
This is what happens when your goals conflict with your values. Instead, learn to set goals that align with your inner values. Set goals that make your heart sing.
Related: Goal Setting Mistakes to Avoid
3. Make Your Goals Measurable
Are your goals measurable? Most people set very general and vague goals like, “I want to become rich”, or “I want to be happy”, etc., but these goals are vague, and they are not measurable.
Let me ask you, if your goal is to live a happy life, how do you know when you have achieved it? That’s the problem. When your goal isn’t measurable, you will never know when you have reached it.
So, make your goals quantifiable. Make them measurable so that you can tell when you have reached them. Plus, when something is measurable, you can then come up with a specific action plan to achieve it.
If your goals are not measurable, you will work day and night without knowing if you have reached them.
4. Identify the Lead Measures
Lead measure is an important measure of your goals. Most people focus on their main target or the results they want, but they don’t focus on their lead measures, and this is why they fail.
Your lead measures are the measures that directly impact the results of your goals.
For instance, if your goal is to lose weight, the two main lead measures are exercise and diet. How much time do you spend to exercise each week? And do you track your diet and calorie intake?
You see, these two measures will directly impact your goal of losing weight. If you want to achieve your goal, then all you need to do is to focus on the two lead measures: exercise and diet.
And you hit your exercise and diet target, you will automatically reach your weight loss goal.
Here’s another classic example. If you want to increase your sales, what should you do? You focus on prospecting and presentation. The more prospects you present to, the higher your number of sales. Therefore, the number of prospects you approach, and sales presentation you deliver are the two lead measures you must work on.
When you achieved your lead measure goals, you will achieve your main goal, which is to increase your sales. So, focus and work on the lead measures.
5. Focus on Making Progress
Next, don’t always think about your goals and the results, when it comes to maintaining your momentum, you need to focus on making progress.
As a blogger, one of my goals is to build a huge responsive subscribers list from my blog. But if I focus on the result, the number of subscribers I get each day, I’m going to fail. Why? When I first started, my blog is new and there are no visitors and subscribers.
So, if I think about my goal of having a ton of subscribers, I will feel dejected, lose my motivation, and eventually give up on my blog. Instead, I choose to focus on making progress.
I know that if I want to grow my subscribers, I will need to publish new articles consistently. Hence, I focus on publishing content. Every time I published a new article, I celebrate and reward myself. I feel good about it and it drives me to continue publishing new content.
And so, day after day, I make progress. And slowly, the number of visitors to my blog increases, and the same goes for my number of subscribers.
Can you notice the difference? Having a goal is important, but to achieve your goal, you need to make progress. Hence, it is more important to focus on the progress than to only think about your goals and do nothing.
Let your progress motivate you and get you to your goals.
6. Work on Improving Yourself Every Day
There is no way you can achieve your goals if you don’t improve yourself. You are where you are because of what you know and what you do. If you want to get to a new place, you need to do something different, and that requires you to improve yourself.
I love to give an example of playing games. If the character in your game is at level 3 and you need to fight a level 5 enemy, you will find the enemy difficult to beat. But as you play the game, gain better experience, and level up your character, say to level 8, the same level 5 enemy will be easy to beat.
Therefore, work on improving your level. When the size of you increase, the problem will become a small problem.
It is the size of you that matters, not the size of the problem. If you think you are having a big problem right now, it is because the size of you is small. You must learn to improve yourself so that the problems become no problem for you.
Related: Motivation Journals for Self-Improvement
7. Set Goals That Are Fun and Exciting
Think about it, if something isn’t fun or exciting, will you have the motivation to achieve it? Obviously, the answer is no. But unfortunately, that’s what most people do. They set goals that are not fun or exciting to them.
You have to understand that if you want to achieve your goals, your goals must be fun and exciting so that you will want to wake up each morning and work on them. If your goals are boring and uninspiring, you will choose to continue to sleep than to wake up and chase them.
Set a goal that makes your heart sing. Be passionate about your goals and make sure you are excited when you think, talk, and work on your goals.
8. Make Your Goals Challenging
Besides making your goals fun and exciting, you must also make them challenging. Why? Because that’s the only way you can grow.
You see, Albert Einstein once said, “A ship is safe at the harbor, but that’s not why it is built for.” Your life is meant to be fun, exciting, and challenging. You want to live a remarkable life, isn’t it? Hence, make your goals challenging.
Think about it, if you are currently earning $5,000 a month, making an additional $100 isn’t going to make you jump out of your bed in the morning. What you want is to have a goal that is challenging and inspiring.
You want your goals to force you out of your comfort zone so that you can grow and become someone better, and worthy of the goals.
9. Take Baby Steps Each Day
It doesn’t matter how big your goals or how difficult they are, as long as you take baby steps and make progress each day, you will eventually get to your goals.
The key is in making progress every day. You can’t achieve your goals by thinking about them, you need to do something.
There is a saying, “If you swing the ax five times, every day, eventually the tree will fall.” Yes, no matter how big the tree, if you just swing an ax at it just five times a day, it will eventually fall.
The same principle applies to your life and your goals. As long as you take action and persist in working on your goals every day, you will eventually arrive at your destination.
Therefore, be consistent. Commit to taking at least 5 baby steps each day, and trust me, you will achieve your goals faster than you thought possible.
10. Believe in Your Goals and Trust Yourself That You Can Do It
Last up on this list of the 10 ways to achieve your goals is related to belief. You need to believe in your goals and trust yourself that you can do it. First, you must believe that your goals are possible. And second, you must trust that you can achieve them.
When you truly believe you can achieve your goals, you will do whatever it takes to reach them. Think about why people buy lottery tickets. Well, it is because they believe that they stand a chance to win, right? If you don’t believe you stand a chance to win, you will never bother buying the lottery ticket.
The same goes for your goals. When you believe that you can achieve them, you will do it with a 100% commitment rather than a half-hearted attempt.
Therefore, believe that your goals are possible and trust that you can achieve them.
Conclusion
There is no way you are going to achieve your goals if you all you do is sit there and do nothing. Reading this article is good because it helps you understand what you need to do to achieve the results you want, but until you implement the knowledge and take action, nothing is going to happen.
Hence, don’t just think and daydream about your goals and the success you want. Make this year your best year ever by using these 10 ways to achieve your goals. If you need a little reminder, you can always print out or save the summarized tips for achieving your goals below:
It is true that this year has been challenging and tough, but if you keep a positive attitude, focus on your goals, and do what is necessary, you can make 2023 a life-transforming year. Use these goal achieving tips to help you.
Till next time,
STRIVE
PS – We hope you enjoyed these top 10 ways to achieve your goals, but never lose sight of this important fact: Achieving goals doesn’t just magically happen. Goal achievement requires a plan. So, if you truly want to make 2023 a life-transforming year, you’ll want to use this to make it happen.
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