5 steps to be more self-disciplined.

by Zahara Matovu
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I don't know if this applies to you as well, but I always used to associate 'discipline' with something bad. It had a bad connotation from how it was used in my environment in the past.

Whenever I heard of the word discipline, I almost immediately associated it with being punished for breaking the rules.

However, now I know that discipline isn't necessarily a bad thing, on the contrary, in order to succeed in life, to reach your goals, you need self-discipline, but what is it?

Self-discipline is the ability to control your impulses, emotions, and behaviours inorder to achieve a specific goal. It is the act of choosing what you want most, over what you want right now.

The steps are as follows;

1. Challenge yourself to finish the tasks you set for yourself.
For example, instead of just saying "I will work out today for 30 minutes", make it a challenge and say, "I challenge myself to work out for 30 minutes every week day for a whole month". Do you see how the energy and motivation changes with just setting a challenge?

2. Plan a head.
You have challenged yourself to work out, so prepare ahead. Prepare your workout clothes and get your exercise shoes off the shoe rack and put them out in the open where you can see them. Preparing like this makes the challenge a bit easier, because it's the thoughts of, "now I have to prepare everything" at the time of the exercise that demotivate you.

3. Design your environment.
For example if you challenge yourself to lose 5kgs, design your environment to make the challenge easier for yourself. For example, you can get rid of all the snacks in your house, that way, when you have a craving, it's not easy for you to just grab something because there's nothing in the house anymore.

4.Progress, not perfection.
When you begin a challenge, the first days are pretty exciting, however, it can get tough, and maybe you miss a day or 2. Just because you missed a day, it doesn't mean you failed. We unfortunately tend to focus on the fact that now that we missed a day, it won't be perfect. However progress matters more than perfection, nothing can be perfect. Just do your best to achieve your goal.

5. Reward yourself.
A challenge doesn't have to be too rigorous. Reward yourself after reaching half way through it. For example, give yourself a rest after working out for a full week, or have a cheat day after a month of no snacking. It gives you that motivation to go on. However, keep the reward small, because the real reward is the goal you want to achieve.

I hope this can help whoever needs it.