Self-Discipline is Key to Success

“If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self.” - Napoleon Hill


Everyone wants to achieve success. But very few people achieve the success. What makes them tick towards success? There are number of secrets and strategies towards success. The first and foremost among them is self-discipline which is the secret towards achieving success. In this context, let us find out the meaning of self-discipline.


What is Self-Discipline?

Self-discipline means training oneself to stick to code of conduct or behavior although the person is willing to do something else at heart but he does as he is expected to do it. Self-discipline is a trait, habit and a skill. It requires consistent efforts to remain self-disciplined. In fact, consistency is the key to self-discipline. Self-discipline needs struggles and sacrifices. Success springs from such strenuous efforts and energies.

Self-discipline is a voluntary and conscious effort to discipline oneself without any external influence. For instance, being punctual to work rather than being reminded by others to be on time, to be focused on work voluntarily rather than being prompted by superiors, getting up early in the morning regularly without anybody’s coercion and getting the tasks executed without procrastination can be considered as self-discipline.

Self-discipline is sticking to tight schedules, rules and regulations without anybody’s influence, coercion. In a nut shell, being duty-conscious, being punctual, being conscious of others, being organized and being initiative are the bedrock for self-discipline. It must go deep within the subconscious mind. It is like minding one’s own work without being reminded by others.

Self-discipline is combination of self-control, self-command, self-regulation and self-feedback. Hitting gym regularly, taking timely food and leading a systematic life become the bedrock of self-discipline.

If you want to decrease your weight, you need to hit the gym. You need to have will power to pursue hitting gym relentlessly for shedding the excess flab. If you are a diabetic and the doctor instructs you to avoid taking sugar then you need to display self-discipline to stick to his instructions.


Will power and Self-Discipline:

Will power and self-discipline are two sides of the same coin. While will power helps in overcoming laziness and procrastination self-discipline helps in developing stamina, endurance, resilience and tenacity, perseverance and motivation. When you are equipped with these two traits you will be confident of taking the things forward. Both are investments for future success.


Merits of Self-Discipline:

“Self-discipline is an act of cultivation. It requires you to connect today's actions to tomorrow's results. There's a season for sowing a season for reaping. Self-discipline helps you know which is which.” - Gary Ryan Blair

Self-discipline empowers your personality. It equips you with several tools and techniques that help in achieving success. It makes you stand out of the crowd. It makes you rise from the rest. It will project you as a leader who stands different from others. There are many merits associated with self-discipline. Let us look at few of them.


It helps in organizing people better as it makes them to get up from sleep at regular times and do things in systematic and focused manner.
It enhances the personality of the individuals thereby projecting in a positive manner.
It is stepping stone towards success.
It helps in achieving your goals much faster and smarter.


Inculcating Self-Discipline:

“In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves... self-discipline with all of them came first.” - Harry S. Truman

Maintain good friends who fuel you with positive thoughts and ideas. Positive company of friends keeps you healthy thus making you self-disciplined.
Cultivate the habit of maintaining diary. Jot down the ideas that surface from your mind. Don’t rely on your memory. It is rightly said that a short pencil is better than a long memory. Jotting down the key ideas enhances perseverance as well.
Take up one task at a time and do it. Don’t mix up several tasks as you end up no where. It will stay you focused and make you task oriented.
Break big tasks into small ones and execute. When you find a big task you may feel like giving up assuming as the difficult one. But when you break it down then work slowly and steadily by addressing small pieces then you will be able to achieve your goal easily however big it might be. When you follow this strategy you will find amazing results. Henry Ford rightly said, “Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs”.
Face the problems rather than avoiding them. Face the fight and take the battle of life to its logical end. It is the secret of self-discipline.
You have the potential for self-discipline. Only thing you should know is when to use and not use it
It is always better to do than to do well in life. Never focus on perfection but on excellence.
Always put work before pleasure. Once the work is over then you can concentrate on pleasure. Or else, you would not enjoy the pleasure as your mind is concerned about work.
Always push yourself harder beyond your limits so that the best within you will come out.
Set small goals and try to achieve. Once you achieve small goals, then you develop a flow that will encourage you to become self-disciplined.
Set your own standards and never compare with others. Realize the fact that everyone is unique.
Active participation in sports and games will develop self-discipline.
Learn to associate with positive activities and experiences as these encourage people to be self-disciplined.


Conclusion:

“It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself.” -

Eleanor Roosevelt

The poor self-discipline makes you weak and unsuccessful and over discipline makes you sacrifice your personal happiness and joy. Therefore, learn to strike the right balance between the both for reaching greater heights in your life.

You can do anything and everything through self-discipline. People with self-discipline rarely give up. They place work before pleasure. After completion of the work they enjoy the pleasure without any guilt feeling.

Self-discipline is a skill not a talent. Talents are inborn and skills are cultivated. Therefore, it is easy to cultivate the skill of self-discipline. It requires will power, stamina and endurance to acquire this skill. The educational institutions can play a crucial role in shaping the students through self-discipline. Similarly, the role of parents is also appreciated to inculcate the skill among their children.

Self-discipline determines the destiny of the individuals. It holds the key to success.

Successful people cultivate this quality at their childhood itself. To sum up, life without self-discipline is like a ship sailing without navigation.



The End