How To Be More Disciplined

Have you ever noticed somebody at the gym or at work who seems to have a lot of self-control? Somehow they don’t let anything distract them, they don’t waste time and they are getting stuff done! It’s impressive, right? 

That is what you call discipline. Someone who knows what they want and how they are going to get it. And that someone can be you.

How can I be more disciplined?

Discipline isn’t something you’re born with — you can develop it. So if becoming more disciplined is something you want, then keep reading. These tips can help you get there.

Start small and prepare a plan

Think of discipline like a muscle. You wouldn’t step into the gym and expect to be able to lift 120kg with no prior training. You have to start with lighter weights and gradually build up your strength.

Discipline is the same — start by making small changes and build on them. Plan out where you will start, whether you need to change your routine and when you plan to take the next steps.

Writing down your goals, as well as a set end date of when you want to achieve them, is one way to hold yourself accountable and can give you something to regularly refer back to when you need a reminder of why you started. 

Visualise your goals

Picturing your success can motivate you to keep going. Think about how it will feel and how it will look when you reach your goal. The more you visualise the process and the goal, the easier it is to put into action! 

Making a vision board can also be a great way to help you visualise your goals, as well as act as a point of reference for you. Simply collect a range of images that represent what you want to achieve and make a collage of them. Then keep it somewhere like on your fridge, where it can remind you of what you're working toward. This can be a great motivational tool to refer to on those days where it feels a little harder to stick to your schedule.

Make conscious choices ahead of time

Know your temptations or distractions and aim to minimise them with conscious choices. Do you find it hard to resist eating a whole block of chocolate? Buy smaller snack bars or skip it altogether next time you go shopping. Find yourself getting lost on Instagram during rest breaks? Use your rest break to fill your water bottle instead. Choose how you’re going to avoid these distractions ahead of time and you’ll find it much easier to stay disciplined.

Celebrate your progress

Self-discipline becomes a little easier as you start to have more confidence in your ability. Each time you celebrate the progress you’ve made, you give yourself a confidence boost. This acknowledges that you have taken some great steps to improve your health, and that’s a big deal! Celebrating progress is fantastic positive reinforcement, something we probably all need more of. 

Forgive yourself and keep moving

Lots of us wish we were more disciplined. One of the biggest downfalls is making a mistake along the way and then using this as a reason to give up. Building self-discipline takes time, so you cannot expect to be perfect at it overnight. When you have a setback, acknowledge that something went wrong and adjust your mindset. If it was something within your control, make changes to stop it from happening again. If it was caused by something beyond your control, try not to get frustrated. Give yourself a break and keep moving forward. 

Self-discipline takes practice!

These tips can help you to become more self-disciplined, not just with your health and fitness, but in other areas of your life too. Don’t convince yourself that you simply don’t have what it takes to be disciplined. You do! It just takes a little bit of practice.