The most successful people in life and business are certainly disciplined. Discipline is what keeps you on track, leads you to success, and helps you focus on achieving the goals, aspirations and milestones you set for yourself throughout your life. But not everybody has what it takes to build self-discipline — it’s a struggle for many.
No matter what people try to tell you, self-discipline is a learned behavior. It absolutely takes time and dedication to develop. But after you build it, life almost always changes for the better. As Teddy Roosevelt said, “With self-discipline, most anything is possible.”
So many good entrepreneurs fail because they’re not disciplined in life and business. That’s the unfortunate truth. While these entrepreneurs are capable of acquiring and sharing knowledge, they’re usually unable to fully execute on what they learn from the countless number of books they read, podcasts they listen to and webinars they watch. Some of these entrepreneurs undoubtedly suffer from what’s widely known as analysis paralysis, but many others simply are incapable of implementing systems designed to keep them on track and focused on what matters.
The underlying culprit? You guessed it: It’s almost always discipline.
One area where discipline is of the utmost importance is goal setting. Without discipline, hitting milestones in your life and business is nearly impossible. Often, you’re going to run into problems if you’re not disciplined enough to execute your plans.
There are two main types of goals: long-term goals and short-term goals. While many people immediately think about long-term goals when setting goals, achievable short-term goals are just as important. Without short-term goals, you’re simply dreaming.
But it’s important to remember this: It doesn’t matter how small or big your personal and professional goals are. If you’re not disciplined, the likelihood of you achieving them is slim to none.
So, how do you build self-discipline to excel in life and business?
Even though it’s a lot easier said than done, begin by focusing on yourself by assessing where you can improve as an individual. Remember: Self-discipline is not only a skill, but a mindset. You’re the one who must commit to changing. It takes time to discover how you can gain self-discipline.
Sometimes focusing on the fundamentals is necessary. For example, self-discipline is difficult to maintain in the long term if you’re not healthy. Are you maintaining a healthy diet and getting enough sleep? What are you doing to stay physically fit?
Then, move on to your temptations. Is Facebook, Twitter or other social media platforms distracting you from what you need to accomplish throughout your day? Limit your access to them and turn your attention to what matters.
Identify your shortcomings and commit to overcoming them. Are there classes you can take? What about webinars? Order books or listen to audiobooks when you’re on your way to work or seeing a client. You can’t have self-discipline without self-improvement.
Self-discipline takes lots of time and dedication to build, but once you’ve developed it, the opportunities are endless.
