Category: Health and exercise

Becoming a master of self-discipline is difficult. I mean, even becoming a self-discipline apprentice is hard! In fact, knowing more about self-discipline is an age-old study. Psychologists have delved into people’s mental state, upbringing, current circumstances, and more to learn why people struggle with it so much. The good news is that although it can sometimes seem as though you have no control when it comes to certain aspects of your life, really you do. You just don’t know it yet.

Self-discipline is one of those things that requires ongoing practice and nurturing. And as with anything that takes time to develop, you too can improve your self-discipline. But first, let’s get into what self-discipline is.

What is self-discipline?

Self-discipline is essentially your consistent ability to control your actions, feeling, and emotions. When it comes to your finances, it’s your ability to stick to your plans of paying down debt saving and investing. When you have a handle on self-discipline, you stay motivated and are more likely to achieve success. It is very strongly connected to willpower which is the control of one’s impulses and actions.

Willpower describes your ability to stay focused while self-discipline is you taking consistent action of time to improve your willpower. Both self-discipline and willpower go hand in hand.

Benefits of self-discipline

Improving your self-discipline has many benefits including:

Decreases anxiety – When you are in control of how you act, you are less likely to feel anxious.

Increases your ability to achieve your long-term goals – With fewer distractions and self-imposed setbacks, having self-discipline allows you to achieve your goals. It also means getting to them faster than if you allowed yourself to get distracted.

Makes you feel happier – When you are on the path to achieving your goals, you feel happier because you are making progress. Self-discipline is a major contributor to this.

You become more resilient – As your self-discipline grows, your ability to resist temptation increases. This in turn makes you more resilient as you navigate different circumstances.

7 Simple ways to improve your self-discipline

Learning how to build self-discipline skills can allow you to cease bad habits, accomplish long-term and short-term goals, and change your life completely. Think of it as investing in yourself. Here, we’ve outlined seven steps to build your self-discipline and work toward the better life you deserve. Well… if you work for it.

1. Countdown, then take action

When you’re feeling particularly unmotivated, count down from ten, then force yourself to do whatever it is you’re doing.  A quick countdown can help shift you into the right mental space to get motivated. Sometimes all we need is a little push to take that next step—that’s how self-discipline begins.

2. Put your goals where you can see them every day

Writing a goal down makes it all the more real. Hang it up somewhere you will see it often and inspire yourself — at your work desk, in your bedroom, in your car, etc. Write the goal in your yearly planner. Put it on your kitchen calendar.

You can also set actual calendar reminders on your phone to go off once a week or so. But be nice to yourself. Don’t scare or shame yourself into your goals; rather, be happy, positive, and encouraging. Increase self-discipline by adding motivational quotes from people you admire. Not sure you have the right goals? Spend some time going over your goals to make sure they align with the things you truly want for yourself.

3. Remind yourself why you started

Keep your end-goal in mind without allowing yourself to forget where you started. Constantly remind yourself — especially when it gets hard — how and why you set this goal and what you will have achieved when you’re done.

Visualize yourself having taken complete control of your life and accomplishing whatever specific goal you’ve set. Set reminders on your phone to tell yourself how far you’ve come and how proud you are. Affirmations are also a great way to keep your self focused on your why.

4. Set small goals first

Try not to overwhelm yourself by setting the bar too high. Build your confidence by setting and achieving a small goal before you go for a big one. For example, if your ultimate goal is to run five miles without stopping, set an initial goal of running a quarter mile without stopping. Be patient with yourself and try not to get frustrated with the process. Accomplishing those small goals first can give you the motivation you need to keep going.

5. Practice prioritizing

Decide which tasks are worth dedicating the most effort to, then organize your day to totally crush them. If you set a study plan, you’re less likely to procrastinate on the less-than-savory tasks. Put things you don’t necessarily love at the top of your priorities, and you’ll be relieved they’re done instead of putting them off another day.

6. Know your weaknesses

Then, proactively combat them. Determine how you might slip up and how you can prevent that from happening. If you know you need to run a 5K this Saturday but your friend is having a barbeque on Friday night, it might be best to skip it.

If you know you need to get to work an hour earlier but you’re a bit of a night owl, invest in some Melatonin. You have the tools to fight back against your own demons. You just need to hunt them down.

7. Get friends to hold you accountable

You are less likely to cheat on your goals if someone you admire is watching. Have your hero (or just your BFF) set a goal alongside you. You can cheer each other on. And when the going gets tough, you can be there to give each other that extra push.

Self-discipline quotes to keep you motivated

We all need a “pick me up” as we work on our self-discipline and achieving our goals. And so here are some great self-discipline quotes to help you stay motivated.

“Just because you’re struggling with self-discipline doesn’t mean you have to raise the white flag and declare your self-improvement efforts a complete failure. Instead, work to increase the chances that you’ll stick to your healthier habits – even when you don’t feel like it.” – Amy Morin

“The ability to discipline yourself to delay gratification in the short term in order to enjoy greater rewards in the long term is the indispensable prerequisite for success.” – Brian Tracy

“Beautiful gems can emerge from dirt. Struggle can teach you self-discipline and resilience.” – Dipa Sanatani

“The pain of self-discipline will never be as great as the pain of regret.” – Anonymous

“Self-discipline is the magic power that makes you virtually unstoppable.” – Anonymous>

“Without any self-sacrifice, how can there be a success?” – Lailah Gifty Akita

All successes begin with self-discipline. It starts with you.” Dwayne Johnson

“Self-discipline is the only power which can keep you energized even in the toughest of the circumstances.” –  Sukant Ratnakar

 “Success doesn’t just happen.  You have to be intentional about it, and that takes discipline.” – John C. Maxwell

“We do today what they won’t, so tomorrow we can accomplish what they can’t.” – Dwayne Johnson<

“Don’t ever stop believing in your own personal transformation. It is still happening even on the days you may not realize it or feel like it.” – Lalah Delia

“Self-discipline is nothing but self-consciousness.” – Pearl Zhu

“Success begins with self-discipline.” – Sunday Adelaja

In closing

When it comes to self-discipline, it’s all about making the commitment to improve and picking yourself back up when you slip. With that being said, determine one area of your life that you want to improve on. Next layout an action plan to help you with improving yourself discipline. With time, effort, and consistency, you’ll be making great strides with your self-discipline.

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This article was written by Ada Amadi, who is a avid budgeter and passionate about women becoming financially literate and empowered.

Anyone who has the slightest interest in self help or personal development should probably already know that building good habits is key to accomplishing long term goals. To form habits, it’s important to find effective methods for tracking them.

Over the years I have experimented a few ways of habit tracking. Some are good for certain habits and have really helped me acquire valuable habits such as rising up early, brushing teeth, daily reading, exercising, playing piano etc. So in this post I’d like to share 3 methods that work best for me.

Method 1: Check-marks in Journal

The first method is very simple and easy to do, but only if you already keep a daily journal. For a few habits I’m working on, I use one word for each habit and write them out in one line separated by commas. It’s usually right after the weather description for the day in journal entry. For example:

  “It’s sunny this morning. Habits: Read√, Workout√, Meditate, Floss√.”

Then I put a small check mark on the upper right corner of each habit word if I did that habit previous day. If you like, you could even use a single letter to represent each habit, as long as you know which habit it stands for.

  “It’s sunny this morning. Habits: R√, W√, M, F√ ” 

The beauty of this method is that you integrate habit review into your daily journal writing activity. By writing out all habits in shorthand form helps you remember what habits you are working on. Jotting down small check marks is fast and easy, and quite satisfying especially if you see most of your habits checked for that day.

Method 2: Numbers List

The first method works great if you only need track whether the habit is done or not. But when it comes to habits you want to track how much is done, I found this second method works better. Basically for this method you simply keep a list of numbers for your habit. Each day you record how much is done, how much should be done and also perhaps a total number.

For example, I keep a daily walking/running habit, so I track my daily steps. I simply create a note in my iPhone’s Notes app. The note entry has just a long table with 3 columns of Date, Target and Actual. For each day, I just put in two numbers. One number is how many steps done for today in Actual column. Then I calculate how many steps I should do for tomorrow and enter it in Target column of next row.

The beautify of this method is that you not only track how much you do for the habit, but you also know how much your target amount is. If you slack off for too many days, that target number will get bigger and bigger and it’ll compel you to get back on track and bring target number down by doing your habits more consistently. Or if you’ve been very diligent for a while, then you will see your target number get smaller and smaller, so you will feel at ease because even if you slack off today you are still on track.

Method 3: GoalsOnTrack Habit Tracker

The above two methods are all just quick and easy ways to track habits. But one drawback is that you can’t easily see your progress as habit is formed and how close you are towards fully formed with each habit. So if you really want to see your daily progress in a more visual manner, the ideal choice is to use an app.
(Click to see full screenshot.)

I keep a few daily habits in my GoalsOnTrack account. As shown in the screenshot above, the app’s habit tracker view can show me all my habits and how I am doing with all of them over a 2 week period. To view more from history, I can easily navigate using the checkmark calendar tool. Not only that, I can also see the predicted habit strength as I work on a habit. It’s calculated based on my daily streaks and repeat frequency of the habit. If I leave two many days undone for the habit, the strength will drop. If I keep at it several days in a row, it will go up.

Personally I like tracking my habits in different ways. Some methods work better for certain type of habits, so it’s better to have more than one way to keep them on track.

No matter how you track your habits, I believe the action of tracking itself is a great motivator and self-accountability mechanism to help you stay on track with your habits.

(P.S. please let me know what is your favourite method you use to track your habits.)

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This post was written by Harry Che,  creator of GoalsOnTrack software.

It’s time to get down and dirty with your goals.

Motivation hacks for the win! When motivation fails, discipline steps in. But even then, sometimes it’s not enough. So how do you rev up your goal drive? First, accept that you’re feeling low. Then decide what your next step is. Do you need rest? Or do you need a lil’ kick in the butt?Be honest. It’s just you vs. you here.

If you need rest, great! Take a day to recharge. If you need to spark some fresh inspo, stick around! We’ve got some genius motivation hacks for you.

These Motivation Hacks Could Be Exactly What You Need Right Now

#1 Harness The Power of Anticipation

Remember, as a kid how much you looked forward to things? A quick ice cream stop or a trip to Disney, that one event was all you could think about until it happened. It gave you so much energy and excitement!

Why not tap into that inner child now? Schedule in something to look forward to on your calendar once a week or month. Something as simple as your favorite yoga class or a fun road trip can do the trick.

It increases those happy feelings, promoting more positive decision-making. Yes, it’s that simple. We thrive when we’re happy!

#2 Use Affirmations

Affirmations may help us break away from negative thinking and turn those thoughts around into something more positive. For instance, if you want to build more confidence, you would say affirmations that build your self-esteem.

In this case, you can use affirmations that keep you motivated, like these:

• I am unstoppable
• I am successful
• Today will be a productive day
• I am filled with focus

Say or write them every day for the best effect!

#3 Find a Cool Community

Community is a great way to relieve stress. We’re social creatures, after all! But along with needing people to connect with, we can use our communities to motivate us into action.

Old news, right? Not really!

You can find unique ways of motivating yourself with virtual group workouts, like using FitOn Party! Workout with your friends from all over the world who can give you tough love. Want to take it up a notch? Scientists Say This is The #1 Way to Stay Motivated to Workout.

#4 Focus on What you GET to Do

The best motivation hacks focus on positivity. It’s so easy to get caught up in the negatives, like “I can’t eat that,” or “I’m not strong enough yet.” This isn’t very uplifting, and it can leave us feeling like there’s no point in even trying. However, let’s flip the switch.

Focus on what you HAVE done and what you GET to do. “I get to eat these nourishing foods. I can do this workout. Any progress is still progress!”

Suddenly, you’re rearing and roaring to prove to yourself how much more you can accomplish. Ahhh, the power of positivity.

#5 Connect Your Habits

Creating a new habit can feel like the most annoying fight of your life. So, set yourself for success.

You can do this by connecting new habits to already existing ones. For example, if you want to start meditating each morning, do it around the time you brush your teeth. Place a meditation reminder sticky note on the mirror. Then, every time you brush your teeth (or look in the mirror for that matter), you remember to meditate, too.

#6 Make a Motivation Hacks Folder

We all have those “meh” days, where our heads feel covered in lazy fog. Sometimes, that means to rest. Other times, it means picking yourself up and doing something energizing, like a workout.

The problem? Peeling yourself away from that Netflix-potato chip session.

Again, you can set yourself up for success by planning for these moments. Create a computer folder, email inbox folder, or actual paper folder of everything that motivates you: favorite songs, vision boards, motivational videos, family pictures, etc.

Whenever you’re struggling to get down with the get-down, filter through your motivation hacks folder and let the inspiration flow.

#7 Try a Mental Rehearsal

Just like professional athletes envision a winning game, you can envision what your own win looks like. You know that goal you just can’t seem to muster? Whether it’s losing 10 lbs, practicing self-care, or cleaning up your diet, take a second to imagine what it will be like when you achieve it.

Soak up the sights, smells, sounds, feelings, and thoughts you’ll have when you “win.” Come back to that vision whenever the slug bug comes to town.

Oh, there you are, motivation!

#8 Let Go of Motivation (Just a Little)

We’ve all been there. We procrastinate doing a workout for so long that suddenly we’re trudging up Mt. Motivation with nothing to show for it. When this happens, we start to overthink everything, from how it won’t matter anyway to there’s not enough time.

Instead, let go of trying so hard to motivate yourself. Get out of your head and into action. Focus on one thing at a time. And remember — even the smallest steps lead to big leaps.

Motivate Your Mind, Your Body Will Follow

The beauty of motivation? Once your mind catches on, the body naturally follows. All it takes is a little bit of mindset work.

Feeling ready to get down to goal business? Gabrielle Union shared her top three tips for motivation with us. These motivation tips may be exactly what you need to bring out that inner motivation even more.

“Only compare yourself to the person you were yesterday.”

“Visualize what you want.”

“Write your own affirmation.”

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This article was written by Emma Lunsford, a health and wellness freelance writer & cookbook author.