The Importance Of Self-Discipline

The key here is self-control. Self-control is a skill, that can be learned, but it's also something we develop over time. We all have moments, where we let go of control. When this happens, we need to make sure, that doesn't happen again. We don't want to get into a situation, where we're tempted by temptation.

When we let ourselves get distracted, when we allow ourselves to fall into the trap of letting things slide, then we've lost control. That's why it's so important for us to learn how to keep our focus. Learning self-discipline isn't always easy, but it's important for us in our lives to stay motivated, reach our goals and be successful.

What Is Self-Discipline?

To begin with, it's important to know what self-discipline is not. Often, people think, that being disciplined means simply not doing whatever it is you want to do, whenever you want to do it. While this is a necessary part of self-discipline, it is not the only part. When you only focus on the negative of not doing what you want to do, you are likely to give into temptation more often and for a longer period of time. This defeats the overall purpose of self-discipline.

Self-discipline is about more, than just not doing something; it's about not doing it for the wrong reasons. Self-discipline is also not about pushing yourself to your limits. If you push yourself to your limits, you could end up injured or you could push yourself past your limits and end up in a mental institution.

Self-discipline is about making yourself better. It's about improving yourself and more importantly, your situation. If you are happy with how things are now, then there is no need to change. If you don't believe this is the case, then you must not have everything that you want.

This is because no matter how much money you have, what you look like or how many people like you, someone always has more than you do. No matter how safe you think you are, there is always some place safer to live. If you are happy with your life, there is no need to change.

Reasons Why Self-Discipline Is Important?

Self-discipline is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets. The more you don't use it, the weaker it gets. So make sure you use it as much as you can.

Here are some of the reasons why it's important to have self-discipline:

• You are able to make better decisions. You don't allow yourself to make impulse buys or say yes when you mean no.

• You have more control over your life. You may make better financial decisions or make better lifestyle decisions for yourself.

• You feel less stressed out all the time, because you aren't stressed about so many things.

• People respect you more. They know that you mean what you say and that you're serious about making the changes you set out to make.

Do's And Don'ts

There are certain things you should do to build up your self-discipline and there are certain things you shouldn't do.

• Do take responsibility for your own actions. If you're at fault, take the consequences. Chances are, you won't like them, but that's okay as long as you don't blame others. Blaming others leads to nothing good, and it's a sure-fire way to avoid taking responsibility for your actions.

• Do concentrate. If you feel the need to daydream a lot, do it then stop doing it before you get lost.

• Do challenge yourself. We all need to push ourselves every once in awhile or we get stagnant.

• Do learn from your mistakes. We all make them and the best way to learn from them is to acknowledge them and then try not to do them again.

• Do push yourself. Whether it's to read more, run further, write more or anything else that you do. Don't ever give up.

• Do stay positive! Don't spend all your time being upset over things, that you can't control. Take a look at the bright side of things whenever you can.

• Don't try to control things over which you have no power. If you're angry and upset about a situation, don't try to control the outcome of it. Grasping at straws only leads to frustration and it doesn't actually help you.

• Don't set yourself up for failure. If you're going to achieve a goal, don't make it so difficult for yourself, that you'll never succeed. Think long and hard about what you're trying to accomplish before you start. Figure out the steps you need to take in order to make it happen and then only take those steps.

• Don't rely on other people. People are not always going to be there for you and sometimes they can even make your problems worse.

• Don't just follow the crowd. This can be a very dangerous thing to do, especially when it comes to self-discipline. By following the crowd you may find yourself doing things, that you may regret later.

• Don't give up. This is one of the most important things on the list. Always keep in mind, that you can make it if you try hard enough. If you find that you're getting tired or bored, then take a break. Then keep trying, but change something.

• Don't worry about other people. There are a lot of people in the world and some of them are simply going to hate you. That's just the way it is. Let them hate you. You can't change other people anyway. All you can really do is your best and then if they don't like it, well they weren't going to like you either. Were they?

• Don't feel guilty about your life. Nobody deserves everything that happens to them, but that doesn't mean you should sit around and take it. You can't control other people and you shouldn't bother wasting your time worrying about them. That's why you have self-discipline. To stay out of their way.

Benefits Of Self-Discipline

There are many benefits, that you can reap by having a strong sense of self- discipline. These benefits may not be immediately obvious, but they can make you happier in the long run. Self-discipline helps you achieve your goals. It is a powerful tool and needs to be used as such.

• Self-discipline makes you happier. Happiness is a byproduct of self-discipline. If you constantly do the things, that you have to discipline yourself to do, you will slowly, but surely feel happier. The reason for this, is that you are taking steps in the right direction. You are becoming more like the person you want to be, which is probably some sort of entertain or productiveness. This process is inevitable, if you have goals that you want to achieve.

• Self-discipline is a form of control. Sometimes life can get hectic and you may find yourself unable to keep up with everything. If this is the case, then it is important to keep in mind, that you control your own destiny. You don't need anyone else to help you and you certainly don't need them to criticize you. You are in charge of your own life and you can make the decisions yourself. You can choose whether or not you listen to their negative criticism.

• Self-discipline keeps you out of trouble. It is important to remember, that while other people's behavior may be reprehensible, you don't necessarily need to imitate it. You don't want to be like that. Besides, just because someone does something doesn't make it recommended for you to do the same thing.

• Self-discipline improves your willpower. Willpower is the key to productivity. The more willpower you have, the more things that you can accomplish. This includes schoolwork, chores, relationships and everything else. The more you improve your willpower, the easier it gets to accomplish all of the things, that you want to do.

• Self-discipline lowers your susceptibility to peer pressure. If you are always the one setting a good example for the people close to you, then they will be more likely to follow your lead. This is because others will emulate you and you will gain respect among others.

• Self-discipline gets you rewards. This may seem counter productive. Wouldn't you rather have things if you just put in the work? The answer is, of course, but there is a catch. If you put in the work, you will reap the benefits in the future and more importantly, you will be happy now.

The key is to strike a balance between self-discipline and reward. If you are not careful, self-discipline can lead to depression. If you keep on depriving yourself of rewards, you will become miserable and you probably won't be motivated to do anything in the future. On the flip side, you shouldn't be getting rewards all the time. When you do get them, it's probably best to appreciate them for what they are. If you are always thinking about the future, you may become miserable in the present.

I am not saying that you shouldn't put yourself first, because you should. I am merely suggesting, that you need to put yourself first from time to time in order to recharge your batteries. You can't be perpetually motivated by misery, otherwise motivation will cease to exist.