DISQUS

SavingDiva · 1 year ago

Excellent post!

However, I think the key to self-discipline is having a plan....or at least a vague idea of what you want.

Hunter Nuttall · 1 year ago

Your rubber band idea is similar to the idea behind the bracelets at http://www.acomplaintfreeworld.org. But when you complain you don't snap them, you just switch them to the other wrist and start over with counting to 21 consecutive days without complaining.

Rachel @ Master Your Card · 1 year ago

That is so very true. I do think that if you are not naturally self-disciplined then it is very hard to change. My husband is not at all self disciplined and I am extremely disciplined. This meansthat we have a relationship where I nag him and he tells me to relax - surprisingly it works very well! I do feel sorry for him though, as he tried really hard to be well discipline dbut it just doesnt seem to be in his nature.

Dividend growth investor · 1 year ago

Great post. Discipline makes you prepare more for your specific field and continuously improve yourself... Overtime this compounds into a lot of positive things for you. ( money, relationships you name it)
Napoleon Hills book was the first motivational book on self improvement that I ever picked up. My philosophy teacher recommended it to me.

Know The Ledge · 1 year ago

Definitely, self-discipline is a crucial behavioral characteristic to have. It is much easier if you grew up with discipline as a child, but even as an adult you can learn it. It's all about making it a regular part of your environment, after a while it becomes a part of you. Nice post.

Solar Yard Lights · 1 year ago

What a world it would be if each one of us could self discipline ourselves. Yeah it's quite hard to learn when your an adult and thats why all children should be taught discipline at a early age.
Remember that even if you can't attain a goal through self discipline or if you just keep falling short, you have to keep on pushing yourself to reach that goal or to develop that habit.
A big problem with many people is feeling bad in the morning. Becoming a morning person does not depend on your mood in the morning but rather how you perceive your morning to be the night before. Fall asleep thinking that in the morning, you will get up, you'll make some coffee, you'll have time to enjoy it and then you'll start off with your day.
Instead of waking in the morning and thinking I have to get up now because I'll be late and then I have to go to work and such. Adjust your mindset.

Ron@TheWisdomJournal · 1 year ago

Hey, GREAT article Steve. I wrote one similar to this, focusing on Financial Success, but I like your viewpoint on Self Discipline much better! :)

financialgal · 1 year ago

Love this post. NYTimes.com recently had an article about willpower, another word for discipline. The article, written by some psychologists, says that you can actually increase your willpower through training, much like a muscle. Even better, your increased willpower in one area (like exercising more) can spread to other areas of your life (like eating better and watching less TV).

Nelson · 1 year ago

I like the switch idea. If you go to hand to hand combat with something luring you away from your regimen - you lose more often than not. The only one that worked with was Odyseus when he had himself tied to the mast. I've had some success with associating certain nondesired behaviors with triggers that engender certain behaviors that help me not dwell on the blue elephant.Some times it's just get up and move when that subject comes up. Right now I use a lot of tight time constraints that if I go over I stop the activity finished or not and go on to the next thing on my list.