How to Cultivate Extreme Self-Discipline

Why Discipline Is Important

Because if you want to design a life you love, you have to put in the work. No one is going to do it for you. In fact, no one is going to care.

And if you procrastinate or lounge around, then nothing is going to get done. If you make poor choices, you will end up with a mediocre life that you don't want, and you won't get to where you do want.

You will end up regretting the choices you made, or your inactions.

Do you want that? Do you want to end up with regret in life, or do you want a life that you have designed that is worth living?

"If we don’t discipline ourselves, the world will do it for us." –William Feather

Do things you don't like now to create a life you love later.

How to develop discipline

By making the choice we know we should make.

By doing this, we train a mental muscle in our mind. And the more you practice something, the better you get at it. Examples of choices you could make to develop discipline include:

• You choose to eat the fruit instead of the unhealthy food.
• You choose to drink water instead of the fizzy drink.
• You choose to brush your teeth instead of skipping it.
• You choose to go to the gym even when you don't feel like it.

When you get a thought in your mind about something you choose to do, but you ignore it, you're letting your lazy mind win. Your discipline muscle gets weaker.

The more often you make the hard choices, the easier they will become.

Get used to making the hard choices until they become easy to you.

The benefit of doing this means that you will be able to withstand difficult situations better in the future. You will feel more in control since you will have developed the habit of making hard choices for yourself.

See, these decisions sound better to make, but to actually make them is challenging. Of course, it's going to be hard. Nothing ever worth having comes easy.

I have self-doubt. I have insecurity. I have fear of failure. I have nights when I show up at the arena, and I’m like, “My back hurts, my feet hurt, my knees hurt. I don’t have it. I just want to chill.” We all have self-doubt. You don’t deny it, but you also don’t capitulate to it. You embrace it. – Kobe Bryant

Habits to help you build discipline

If you are struggling to get started in your journey of building the discipline habits, choose one of these habits one week at a time and implement them into your life. They may seem mundane at first but remember it's about making the choice to do the action and actually doing it that strengthens the discipline muscle.

The more you actually do it and ignore the voice in your head telling you to put it off or that it's pointless, the more you develop the discipline muscle and can start applying it to slightly harder things.

1. Make your bed first thing in the morning

Admiral McRaven is a Navy SEAL who gave a commencement speech at the University of Texas. In this, he tells you to make your bed first thing in the morning. It's a simple and mundane task, however, this is your first accomplishment of the day. It sets your day right to doing tasks during the day. If you can't do the little things right, you won't be able to do the big things right. I highly encourage you to watch his speech if you have time. What's amazing is that people who make their bed are happier and more successful than those who don't (source). Start your day right!

2. Write your to-do list the night before

Doing this will set intentions for the next day. It's almost as if you install your tasks for the next day into your subconsciousness, who will then kindly process it for you whilst you sleep, and you are more likely to actually get those things done.

3. Learn to say no

Saying no to the things that don't matter allows you the space to say yes to the things that you want to do and that do matter.

4. Clear your space

A tidy environment creates a tidy mind. Get rid of clutter and keep your environment clean and organised.

5. Journal for a few minutes a day

Journaling daily will help you build discipline, clear your mind, set intentions for the next day and make you more likely to achieve your goals. It only has to be for a few minutes a day to help you clear your mind, express gratitude and set intentions for the next day.