The Importance of Discipline in Achieving Your Goals

"Discipline is the key to success". A phrase you've likely heard many times before, and in all cases, it rings true. Successful men in their respective fields always have a lifestyle of discipline and habit in place. This common factor is not a coincidence and in fact a tell-tale sign of whether someone will be successful in the future.

So why is Discipline the key to success? The answer is very simple: Discipline allows consistency and you’re consistent, you always complete your daily goals which in the long run builds an aptitude for success. It allows you to be ever-ready and prepared for when a small opportunity might appear. When it comes, pounce on it and crack the door of opportunity wide open.

In this article, we’ll discuss the power of consistency and how developing good routines through discipline brings you, the modern gentleman closer to success.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit.”

Why is Discipline the Key to Success?

Let’s face the cruel albeit necessary truth — success doesn’t come easy. Most hyper-successful people spend at least 14 hours each day on making their dreams a reality. Proving that it takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and yes, discipline.  But what is discipline, really? And why is it such an important ingredient in the recipe for success?

Firstly, we need to fully understand what discipline means. In layman’s term, discipline is the practice of training oneself to do something in a habitually consistent manner. It’s doing what you need to do, even when you don’t feel like doing it. It’s setting yourself strict rules and following them no matter what whilst being relentless in your efforts and never giving up, no matter how tough things get.

When you’re disciplined, you’re in control. You’re in charge of your own destiny. You’re not at the mercy of fate, luck or chance. You decide what you’re going to do and then you do it. Discipline allows you to stay laser-focused and dedicated to your goals. And that, gents is why it is the key to success.

How Can I Develop A Discipline System?

But how can you develop a system of discipline? Well, like the popular Nike slogan; “Just do it”, on a regular basis. It certainly is easier said than done, I’ll give you that. But sometimes, there are days where it just gets extra difficult to accomplish your targeted task. So much so that your mind will come up with arbitrary things to convince you to take a break. A discipline system requires you to be in total control of your mind and body. 

Here are some tips for you to get started.

Goal-Setting

You need to know what you are aiming for before you start shooting. Start with small goals and work your way up. Taking on too much at once can get overwhelming and cause you to give up early. Remember, small victories add up. Completing daily tasks actually give you a small boost of dopamine which makes you feel happy. 

Set a Timetable

Decide on your schedule and stick to it no matter what. Let’s say you want to learn an African language. Set aside an exact time and duration for study of the language. It can be daily, weekly or every alternate day (whatever suits you). The important thing is that it must be realistic and sustainable. If your routine is erratic, then it’s going to be hard to stay consistent.

Follow Proven Lifestyles

Find a role model or mentor. In these modern times, it is easy to Google anyone’s daily routine. Search for a person you would like to emulate and take into consideration their daily habits. “The 5 AM club” by Robin Sharma is a popular book about the concept of rising early to accomplish your goals. A lifestyle that is practiced by many successful figures like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Malala Yousafzai and many others

 

Time & Feedback

Finally, be patient and stay focused. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and you’re not going to become successful overnight either. In fact, nobody truly is. It takes time and dedication to achieve great things. As Malcom Gladwell wrote, it takes roughly 10,000 hours to become an expert. Only over the course of hours, days, weeks, months and years, can you discover every mistake, pitfalls and secrets that so many others miss out on.

Distractions Lead to Procrastination

In the journey for self-discipline, the most common barrier that everyone struggles with is distraction. What distraction do I mean? It differs from person to another. For me, it could be TV shows and movies, for you it could be your friends, and for others, it could be music, food, games, sports or even sleep.

Be it whatever distraction you have in your personal like, it can make you stumble and fall off tracks. You probably tell yourself, I’ll do it later, but first lets play an hour of FIFA or NBA2k. Eventually, you keep pushing back the things you need to do and everything piles up into a huge burden that you give up on ever doing it at all. Does this situation sound familiar?

If it does, then you my friend are a chronic procrastinator and you need to break out of that habit. You need to stop getting sidetracked by distractions. A way to do this is to make access to those “distractions” away. As the saying goes, “Out of sight, out of mind”.

We understand that it is not easy to stick to a disciplined routine, especially when you’re working on something new. You often find yourself struggling with your commitment, or feeling like you’re just not cut out for this type of thing. Those “distractions” offer you some sort of solace and comfort in the face of this challenge. You are not alone in this. Everyone has experienced this struggle but not everyone can break out of it. If you want to be disciplined, you have no choice but to forge ahead.

Discipline Over Habits

So far we understand that we need discipline to develop consistent habits. But how long does it take for a habit to become automatic. A very common myth out there is that it takes 21 days to develop a habit. However, a recent study has shown that it takes roughly 2 months or 66 days to form a habit. Does this mean you have to countdown the days as you start this lifestyle? No, it does not.

All that matters, is your discipline and focus to get things done. Discipline helps to develop habits. Don’t let bad habits destroy your discipline.

In the end it does not matter how many days or months it takes. With enough time and practice (aka discipline), no distractions or problems will stop you in the way of reaching your goal. Reaching that goal will give you happiness and contentment. In other words, success.

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