“I will finish writing this novel in two months”, this is probably what must you have said one day. You started well and finished twenty pages on the first day of your projected 300-page novel. On the second day, you continued with the same enthusiasm and finished another twenty pages. Your great start made you consider finishing the novel in just fifteen days. On the third day, laziness takes the better off you and you end up writing fifteen pages only. Knowing that you are still quite ahead of your planned time, just ten pages are what you pen for the fourth day. With every passing day, the number of written pages lessens and by the end of second week, you stop writing. You eventually finish the novel but on the anniversary of the day you started the novel. The novel that could have taken just fifteen to twenty days took a year to finish. This was one of many common examples of lack of self discipline. Self discipline is the ability to work irrespective of your emotional state. Self discipline is based on five important factors which are acceptance, willpower, hard work, industry, and persistence. Self discipline is an important personal development tool and helps in wiping out procrastination, disorder, and ignorance. It eventually leads to self development, emancipation from any bad habit and enhanced performance. Here are listed some easy ways to develop self discipline.
Developing Self Discipline
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The first step in the development of self discipline is the acknowledgement of responsibility. A person should realize the fact that if he/she will sit around doing nothing, he will achieve nothing.
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After you have acknowledged your responsibility, it’s time to accept the resistance. Probably as a student, you don’t like studying, it is the resistance. If you accept the point that you don’t like studying, but it is important for you and you should study, you are actually accepting resistance. In this way you will accept the resistance by doing what you don’t like to do.
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The next step in building self discipline is to relax and take a few deep breaths to ease off any signs of tension. Pause for a while and try to visualize the action as if it were already completed. Spend the next few moments in studying the image of the completed project in your mind. In this way you will prepare both your conscious and subconscious mind for action.
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It is time to act now. This will help you to have relief from any sense of guilt of ignoring an important task. Also, it will facilitate you in enjoying the pleasure of accomplishment. You will also realize that the task was not that difficult as it was first imagined to be.
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Enjoy the relief and experience you are getting. Remembering and focusing on it can become a source of motivation. In the initial, the lure of relief and pleasure could be weak but as you repeatedly do what you don’t feel like doing, the motivation to act will grow stronger and stronger, until a firm habit is formed.
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People who haven’t yet developed the habit of self-discipline, focus prominently on the efforts required to perform task, hence they avoid doing them. Efforts could be signs of discomfort. It is advisable that you change your focus. Instead of the efforts required for the task, shift your focus on the relief and pleasure you will be experiencing. Also realize the fact that it is habit of the memory to blow things out of proportion. Once you start believing it, the task will become a lot easier.
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Whenever you start your personal Self-Discipline Development Program, concentrate on two things: first to complete tasks and second to develop self-discipline. Among the two, self discipline is more important. When starting out, don’t jump to the most urgent task, but choose the easiest one first and work your way up. Taking small steps at first as these would eventually lead you to reach your goal and help in developing self discipline.
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Be firm with yourself and act likewise so that you stop running away. Remember to face your task, accept it and accomplish it. Finish whatever you have started and focus on one task at a time. Avoid the loss of attention. Be gentle, but remember that you don’t have to do all your tasks immediately. You cannot score hundred on the first ball. You need to start slowly, gradually pick up pace as you develop your skills.
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You will always get tempted to avoid your tasks. Your mind will come up with various rationalizations and excuses for procrastination. You should be aware of your feelings and learn to think before you act. Use your rational mind to guide your actions.
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Now as you have learned the ability to act quickly on all the tasks, responsibilities, and challenges facing you, you will be always ready to act.
Remember that nothing is unimportant to do in order to maintain your self discipline. We hope that these tips of developing self discipline will help you in your way to fulfilling your dreams.
