EE 034: Harnessing the Power of Self-Discipli…Oooh Shiny!!

There are many successful people who tout self-discipline as the key to success.  Whether the success is derived from home life, or professional achievement; self-discipline seems to be the cornerstone of success.

What does it take to have the levels of self-discipline necessary in order to become successful?

Identify weaknesses

Above all, we need to know our weaknesses.  The real ones, not just the socially acceptable ones.

When working on a difficult project or long-term goal, it can be difficult to understand what keeps us from achieving our dreams.  One of the best ways to get through this is to understand and identify your weaknesses.  The weaknesses are the things that keep you distracted from achieving your goal.

Entrepreneur Magazine recommends you acknowledge your shortcomings whatever they may be.  People often deny that they are anything but perfect.  We have a habit as a people to gloss over our mistakes and highlight our successes.  The only way to gain self-discipline is to be brutally honest about your failures so that you can avoid repeating them in the future.  One of the best ways to avoid repeated failures is to work on environmental management.

Remove All Temptation

One of the largest hurdles in self-discipline is the temptation to do anything other than the task at hand.  Otherwise referred to in professional circles as “Shiny Object Syndrome“.  Ooohhh…shiny…

I digress, where was I?  Right, removing temptations.

In office life this temptation may be the desire to surf social media rather than work on an important project.  In weight loss, this may be the urge to eat candy out of the office candy dish.  No matter what the temptation is, Forbes suggests removing it will be more helpful to you than allowing it to remain.  You are only human, you know!

If you’re at work and attempting to avoid social media, it may be difficult.  Installing a Facebook blocker on your computer will remove the temptation.  You are no longer able to access the social media site and can focus on other things.  If your cell phone becomes problematic with all the social media notifications, simply turn it to silent mode.  The easy removal of temptation allows you to focus on the things that are important.  Over time you will develop the self-discipline to not need those technological blocking tools.

Have a Reason Why

When working on a long-term project or goal having the ability to endure can become difficult.  It is especially difficult if you don’t remember the reasons why you are maintaining such strict discipline.  Self-discipline is rarely defined as fun and usually involves sacrifice.  (Another 4-letter word for many of us.) Because of this knowing why you’re sacrificing can help you through the challenging times.

Write down all the reasons you are trying to achieve your goal.  Whether it is personal success, professional satisfaction, or physical health; all reasons should go on this list.  You can then use your list of reasons why you are sacrificing in moments of weakness and temptation.

If you are trying to get a promotion at work, late hours at the office can begin to wear on you.  If you don’t remember that the reason that you want the promotion is to have better health care for your family and less financial stress than it will be easier to leave when you should stay.  Keep your list of reasons that to your sacrificing close to you so that you can use them when you need.

Nothing about achieving great personal successes easy.  Ask anyone who has hit a major goal and they will tell you it took self-discipline.  Self-discipline means doing things that you should even when you don’t want to.  Following these three suggestions will help you stick to the plan even in moments of temptation.  Identify your weaknesses, remove temptation, and knows the reasons you need to hit your goal.

If you can keep these three steps in mind, you will easily develop self-discipline necessary to achieve your goal.  Self-discipline doesn’t happen overnight, so be forgiving when you make slips or mistakes.  Getting right back on track after a mistake and following the three steps will get you closer to your goal and even beyond success.