How to Learn Self-Discipline

It's possible for even lazy people to learn self-discipline, says Dr. Alex Lickerman, a physician of internal medicine. There are strategies to help you motivate yourself and stay committed to your goal. As you form the habit of self-discipline, you'll find yourself confident and motivated to achieve whatever goals you set for your life.

Instructions

• 1

  Decide the area of your life where you want to more disciplined. Ask yourself if you want to improve your financial status within a specific period of time or are looking to achieve a better position professionally or want to invest more time in nurturing your family relationships. Prioritize if you have more than one area that need more discipline.

• 2

  Write down why you want to develop self-discipline in a specific area. For example, a student wanting to discipline himself in study is likely to have better grades as the most important reason. Understand that to do something routinely, the outcome of the action must be something that you value; only then are you more likely to find the motivation and commitment essential to stick to your purpose on a daily basis.

• 3

  Examine what action you need to take on a daily basis to achieve your goal. For example, if you want to discipline yourself to maintain better weight, daily exercise is more likely to feature in your daily to-do list, followed by limited intake of high-fat and high-sugar foods. Create a task checklist on a daily basis detailing what you need to do for the day.

• 4

  Start small. Keep any task to just 15 minutes. Focus on starting the activity instead of thinking about if you'll be able to stick to the task for the amount of time you've set for yourself. Realize that by diverting yourself with such thoughts, you'll become more inclined to make excuses, such as postponing the activity to another day when you're more positive. Set a timer and start the task at the designated time and continue until the timer goes off. Follow this routine for minimum two months by which time it should develop into a habit. Tick off your checklist every day after completion of the task to keep track of your progress. Increase the duration of your tasks gradually.