During my keynote at Schnizzfest earlier this year, I discussed the goal-setting process and self-image. I’ve frequently shared my thoughts on both throughout my career.
While goals hold us accountable, we need self-discipline to take action. Over the years, I’ve learned and observed that we all have a finite amount of self-discipline. Everyone’s limit is different. You can increase your capacity when you have goals you are passionate about, but that doesn’t necessarily mean your self-discipline becomes unlimited. You need to choose your priorities wisely.
People often say, “I’m going to exercise more this year,” and “I’m going to improve my golf game.” But my response is often, “No, you’re not. If you had the self-discipline to do all those things at once, you would have done them already.”
Write down your priorities and arrange them in order of importance. Then, hold yourself accountable by creating aggressive but realistic expectations for your goals.
Have you met people who have unlimited self-discipline? I have found they typically fall into two categories:
- Those who appear disciplined but have hidden issues that impact their lives.
- More efficient people, such as business owners, who delegate and have command, so they can carve out an hour to work out and leave at a planned time each day.
You need to recognize that self-discipline is limited. Set priorities, then use goals to expand your capacity and be more efficient with your time to get more mileage from your self-discipline capacity.