Discipline
The key to a (sustainably) fulfilling and successful daily life
Reading time: 7 minutes
Discipline is the secret behind success and satisfaction. It grants us the ability to control our actions and achieve long-term goals. But why do we often find discipline so challenging, and how can we integrate it into our daily lives to benefit over the long term?
You know it:
you really wanted to workout three times a week, but you only went three times this whole month?
you need to get your next article done and yet you constantly have better things to do?
add your specific issue here
Somehow, we constantly fail to get things done and miss our short term and long term goals.
But being disciplined has even more benefits than just reaching your goals!
Long-Term Benefits of Increased Discipline
Long-Term Satisfaction:
By achieving your long-term goals, you get deep satisfaction and fulfillment.
Knowing that you can achieve your goals boosts your overall well-being.Stress Reduction and Resilience:
A structured daily routine can help reduce stress. Clearly defined tasks and routines provide a sense of security and reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed.
Discipline also strengthens your resilience and endurance, making you more resistant to challenges and setbacks.Continuous Improvement:
Through constant effort and self-control, you can continuously develop your skills and abilities.
With clear goals, effective time management, routines, and minimizing distractions, you will be more productive, satisfied, and more healthy.
For instance, I disciplined myself to wake up at the same time every day, go for a run, take a shower, and have breakfast.
Besides the positive impact of getting fitter, this routine has strongly influenced my motivation, self-confidence, and resilience to seemingly tough tasks.
The fact that I fought hard to turn this morning routine into a habit has boosted my self-confidence.
So why is it sometimes so difficult?
Too Many Rewards:
Our brains are wired to seek out short-term rewards, making it hard to focus on goals that don’t provide instant gratification.
Social media is a prime example: The constant stream of entertaining content triggers a dopamine rush.
This is your brain’s “drug,” and it craves more. Social media delivers these “kicks” quickly and easily, making it difficult to pursue long-term goals, where rewards are delayed.
For your brain, that feels like too much effort.Lack of Self-Control:
Discipline requires a high level of self-control, which relies on willpower — a limited resource.
After a long day full of decisions and challenges, your willpower may be gone.
This is why it is hard to resist a snack or to get up for a workout after a tough day.
However, this storage can be expanded over time, and its consumption reduced through consistent discipline.Unclear Goals and Priorities:
If we don’t know what we want to achieve, we lack the motivation and direction to act in a disciplined manner.
A lack of structure in your daily lives can make it harder to stick to your commitments and tasks.Environmental and Social Influences:
A distracting environment or a social circle that encourages undisciplined behavior can make it hard to maintain discipline.
For example: if you plan to eat less sugar but your partner eats sweets in front of you — well thats no good.
How to bring more discipline into your life.
✅ Set Clear Goals:
Write down your goals and break them into smaller, manageable steps.
Prioritize your tasks not just by importance but by when you can best complete them during the day.
Tackle the tasks you least enjoy first — this is known as “Eat the Frog” principle. Once they’re out of the way, you’ll feel more motivated to tackle the rest.⏱️ Time Management:
Create a schedule or a to-do list and stick to it. Plan your tasks in advance and allocate specific time slots for important activities.
Tools like calendars and planning apps can help keep you organized.
My personal tip: use the reminder integration of iOS Calendar:
Short iOS-tip
Since iOS 17, it’s finally possible to display tasks directly in the calendar. Now you can not only add time blocks as tasks to your calendar but also create tasks with notes that you can check off once completed.
3. 🏃♂️ Establish Routines:
Fixed daily routines reduce the need to make new decisions every day, making it easier to stay disciplined.
Doing the same thing every day sounds boring? It actually saves you a lot of effort and relieves pressure.
Start with morning and evening routines, and gradually integrate more into your day.
Read more about it here.
My personal tip: use a Habit-Tracker for support
Notion works wonderfully for tracking your habits; you can create to-do lists, manage habit templates, and enjoy a growing range of features.
Read more about the habit tracker here.
4. 📴 Minimize Distractions:
Identify your biggest distractions and develop strategies to minimize them. This could mean using focus functions on your phone to block certain apps while you work or setting up a quiet workspace.
Identify your biggest distractions and develop strategies to minimize them. For example, you could block specific apps on your phone while working. Use the Focus feature to show only the notifications or apps you need in certain situations.
Also, create a quiet workspace where you can work undisturbed and set up calendar blockers to show others that you’re unavailable. Avoid situations that hinder your goals. For instance, if you want to quit smoking, try to avoid places where you used to smoke automatically out of habit.
5. 🤔 Self reflection:
Regularly review your progress and adjust your strategies as needed. Discipline requires continuous adaptation and improvement.
Be open to changes and try new approaches to reach your goals.
If, for example, one of the methods above doesn’t work for you, question its usefulness and find a new method that suits you.
Read more here.
These additional skills and habits will help you as well:
Develop Self-Awareness
By understanding your habits and the factors that affect your discipline, you can work on them more intentionally.
Most people do not truly know why they do not like specific tasks. They just don’t like it.
But when you really understand why something makes you uneasy or unmotivated, you will be much more likely to overcome it.Take Small Steps:
Start with small, achievable goals. Small successes motivate you and build the necessary willpower to tackle bigger challenges.
I always try to start a big task by just breaking it down. This may help you having a better understanding of the overall effort and time you will need. You may be surprised that big looking tasks are not so bad.Train Your Willpower:
Challenge yourself with tasks or situations you dislike. These don’t need to be big hurdles — start small to avoid giving up too quickly.
Have you been meaning to jog regularly but struggle to get going? I know that feeling. Set a goal to take a short walk after lunch every day. Also, refuse small temptations, like the evening bowl of chips or a piece of chocolate.
The more often you achieve these small victories, the easier it will be next time, and you’ll feel proud of yourself!Physical Activity:
I’ve noticed that I’m generally more disciplined in various areas of my life when I stay active. The more physically active I am, the higher my overall motivation and discipline.
If I’m unable to work out for a while, like when I’m ill, it becomes much harder to find motivation and discipline again.
But in the long term, it helps to stay consistent. There are always challenging phases, but don’t give up.
Read more about self-motivation here.Mental Preparation:
Mentally prepare yourself for challenges and temptations. Anticipate possible obstacles and create plans to overcome them. Also, imagine (really do imagine it with your inner eye) how proud you’ll feel afterwards.Positive Self-Talk and Gestures:
Use positive self-talk to strengthen your motivation and discipline. Encourage yourself and stay optimistic, even when things get tough. Look at yourself in the mirror and, after overcoming a challenge, raise your fist in the air.
Does this sound silly or embarrassing? Research shows that certain body postures can reinforce the emotions associated with those actions, so you can influence your mood with your posture
Conclusion
As you can see, discipline not only helps you accomplish tasks but also brings a sense of satisfaction and self-confidence through regular success. Discipline enables a structured lifestyle, which reduces stress and strengthens your mental health. Through discipline, you also develop resilience to challenges and setbacks, increasing your overall resilience.
Now to You
What are your experiences with discipline? How do you handle unpleasant challenges? What methods do you use to bring more discipline into your daily life?
Help others on their path to improved discipline by sharing your comments.
Leave a thumbs-up