The Power of Discipline: How to Use Self Control and Mental Toughness to Achieve Your Goals

by Daniel Walter

When you make healthy choices, self-discipline is strengthened; on the other hand, making unhealthy choices diminishes self-discipline.

When the brain is operating in survival mode, it begins to crave instant gratification, which leads to binge eating and other negative behaviors linked to a lack of self-discipline.

Discipline is about doing what you know you’ve got to do even when you don’t feel like it. But for your efforts to make a difference, you must be consistent. Slacking off every other day isn’t going to get you to your destination any more quickly. Consistency builds momentum and that’s how dreams become a reality. When you are aware of what discipline demands, you are more likely to choose to do the right thing.

Although making a change often leads to a more positive outcome, on a subconscious level, we assume that change will do us more harm than good.

The fear of failure is why people don’t like change, but the reality is that failure is not final—it’s not the end of the world if you don’t get it right.

You might have a desire to get up on Saturday morning and start working on your goals, but because you’ve spent the majority of your life sleeping in on Saturdays, you will have a hard time dismantling your status quo bias. The trick is to keep reminding yourself that the more you get up early, the easier it will become.

Get into the habit of questioning your decisions so that you are actively paying attention to your habits and altering them to ensure that you reach your end goal.