It may be hard to believe, but those who master the art of self-discipline are actually happier. Now, the reason we said this is probably hard to believe is simple: spending a day on the sofa with a duck-down duvet and nothing but three seasons of Mad Men to conquer sounds a lot more fun than dragging yourself to the gym to endure a leg-defeating spinning class. But that isn’t how it works.
Instead, those that are able to show some discipline and self-control are much more capable of making positive decisions (the operative word being positive). They know what is good for them and they don’t have to think twice about it. They have control over impulses and that is a surefire way to feel more satisfied.
The question is, how on earth can you boost your self-discipline and then turn that into a happier life? Well, reading on is a good place to start…
1. Highlight Your Weaknesses
No one is without weakness. No one. Not even Beyonce. It could be Hershey’s chocolate, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, mindlessly scrolling through Instagram or playing Angry Birds at every available second. Whatever it is, acknowledge them, don’t hide from them. After all, you can’t beat your flaws until you know what they are.
2. Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind
The genius that was Oscar Wilde put it best when he said, “I can resist everything except temptation”. It’s something that resonates with us all. That is why you should remove all the temptations you can from your day to day life. Don’t have junk food in your cupboards, delete Angry Birds, turn off your notifications and then replace these urges with positive goals.
3. Surround Yourself Correctly
Willpower is a pretty hard thing to muster up on your own (stress why you are reading this article). That’s why you should surround yourself with the kind of people that will energise, motivate and encourage. You could join a community group and let that motivate you. You could look at joining a sporting academy, like this one https://fcbcanada.com/academy/toronto, and find self-discipline through sport. You could even decide that you need to find a new friendship group altogether simply because yours lack the ambition you have.
4. Know Your Targets
You can’t hope to succeed with the self-discipline thing if you don’t know what you are working toward. You need to want to accomplish something; something that will make you feel successful, whatever that word may mean to you. If you don’t have an obvious goal then you’ll find yourself getting lost along the way, and you won’t even realise it. So, create a goal, come up with a plan to get you there and then find out what will keep you motivated.
5. 66 Days Is All It Takes
What you want is for self-discipline to become a habit. That’s the dream. It is to be able to make positive decisions without thinking about it, which isn’t easy at first. That said, if you are able to do something every day for 66 days then it will become a habit, and that includes willpower and self-control.