5 Ways to Increase Your Self-Discipline Class is Open
We don’t usually like talking about “discipline” because people tend to think of it as a verb. However, discipline is also a noun. While you might not like to experience discipline, there is a lot of good to be said about having discipline.
Discipline as a verb is a way for others to instill discipline the noun into us. However, as adults, we can practice discipline without punishing ourselves when we slip up. In fact, here are 5 ways to increase your self-discipline – without self-flagellation.
1. Have a Reason
A lot of people make New Year’s Resolutions and then are surprised that they haven’t kept them by April. They often blame themselves. Most of the time, not keeping a resolution isn’t about being weak it’s about picking a random resolution over a glass of bubbly instead of deciding to do something that you care about.
Sometimes, you may want to increase your self-discipline to quit a habit that isn’t hurting anyone – even yourself. That doesn’t mean that you need an external reason. According to the psychological theory of incongruence, we can feel discomfort when we don’t like things about ourselves. This incongruence can be enough of a reason.
Of course, increasing your self-discipline can have greater reasons than simply going to the gym more often or quitting smoking. Increasing self-discipline can help you to have better relationships with other people, to make better decisions, and to be more mindful of your health and wellness.
2. Have a Friend
Increasing your self-discipline is all about accountability. Sometimes we have the strength to be accountable to ourselves but sometimes it can be easier to be accountable to other people.
That doesn’t mean that you need to have someone else watching you all the time. Just mention to a friend or close family member that you are working on something and ask them to touch base with you on it every now and again. There’s a greater perceived risk and reward in telling someone else about out triumphs or failures than there is in keeping these things to ourselves.
3. Have a Heart
As mentioned above, learning self-discipline isn’t about disciplining yourself. When you make a mistake, recognize it and try to learn from it instead of beating yourself up over it. Also as mentioned above, the word “discipline” has a bad taste in our mouths because it’s something that we fear instead of something that we desire. If you treat yourself too poorly on your path to increased self-discipline, it will only hurt your progress.
4. Have a Role Model
Self-discipline is a pretty abstract idea. Developing it can be easier if there is a person that you look at as a model of who you want to be more like further along in your journey to increase your self-discipline.
If you belong to a faith community, chances are you already have a series of role models built into your belief system.
5. Have Patience
Increasing your self-discipline can take time. Some people would argue that you can never actually complete this journey. As a result, if you have a deadline goal like “I want to be self-disciplined by July,” you are likely to be disappointed. You can set goals for yourself but make sure that they are easily measurable. Don’t set them so far ahead that you can forget about them or so close to the present that you can’t meet them.
Increasing your self-discipline is a worth-while pursuit. It’s something that most of us would benefit from. However, it’s an idea that too many of us tend to shy away from largely because we don’t completely understand what it means. Hopefully, these ideas will help you on your journey.