Self-discipline is the ability to control yourself and to make yourself work hard or behave in a particular way without needing anyone else to tell you what to do. It is about single focus or goals in your life to achieve without undergoing any distractions.
More than an act, it is a habit which need to be cultivated slowly but steadily. Permanent changes happen but with consistent efforts and perseverance. Your entire personality how you think, behave and act in certain situation changes for better. It is a long but the cheapest and reliable personality development programme.
Decision, determination and dedication are the three keys of self-discipline.Without it even a small goal look like a big task and its practice can make one achieve the highest peak. It is all about organising your thoughts, understanding, abilities and talents. The other factors involved are planning your tasks and motivating oneself and being alone with oneself and self-talk and not to be stopped until you become an achiever.
Lack of self-discipline is the way to destruction and underachieved dreams whereas self-discipline makes your dreams come true. Many talented and gifted people are in gutters and average people are seeing the light of the day only due to this small key. Wishful thinking, shortcuts and tricks don’t work on long term and ultimately the people with self-discipline win over them. Being undisciplined or uncontrolled is the cause of most of the social evils like poverty, crimes, drugs, etc.
All successful people have two common things – goal and self-discipline. It is the strongest principle and great human value which helps man reach one’s full potential. Hard work is another face of self-discipline and fruits of hard work are always sweeter than sugar. It’s not always physical strength with helps to be self-disciplinedbut our mental strength which needs the most.
Few principles to be followed:
Principle No.1: Consistently expecting more from oneself and without complaining struggling to achieve your goals. Practising the things in which you want to be expert or master. That’s why they say ‘practice makes man perfect’.
Principle No.2: Concentrate only on the things which you need to achieve rather wasting time and energy in other activities. Yes, they say it right ‘Time is money’ and people with self-discipline understand this point in the beginning itself. Set your priorities, learn to say ‘No’ when needed, don’t be always people’s pleaser. Use your mind as a machine and make best use of your mental and physical capacities rather than spending time on worthless or non-productive work. Train your subconscious mind to achieve your goals faster. Constantly think and work on your goals. Write your goals and plan how to achieve and do the activities in that direction only. Don’t strive for big goals rather work on small and achievable goals. Ladder of success also has steps, so take your step one at a time but don’t ever stop climbing. You know Rome was not built in a day.
Principle No.3: Make yourself standout from the crowd. Don’t try to think, do and set goals like average people but study and try to incorporate goals of highly successful people. If you work on these lines automatically, great results come in your way and you will win. Winning attracts wins and it will continue in your life as a habit and you not only become achiever but also as inspiration for others.
Lastly, self-discipline is the main key to accomplish our goals that allow us to work harder, to only achieve certain greater objectives, to hold a greater self-worth sufficiently, it makes things easier by allowing someone in the desire to exert them. Self-discipline makes life much less miserable as a good life can only be achieved by discipline. We can live happier lives since we will be more in control of our goals. The search for self-discipline is the lasting solution to a more successful and content life.
[The writer is Faculty, VeeranariChakaliIlamma Women’s University, Koti, Hyderabad.Email: [email protected]]