Self Discipline: A Self Regulatory Mechanism for Success

Let us start with this popular statement:
“There are two types of pain you will go through in life, the pain of discipline and the pain of regret. Discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tonnes.” – Jim Rohn

Below are excerpts from “The Miracle of Self-discipline”, a book by Brian Tracy – a seasoned self-development professional who constantly engages corporate and public audiences on the subjects of personal and professional development – including the executives and staff of many of America’s largest corporations.
Ever wondered why people in the same age group, class, country, etc., churn out different results? How do the people with better results achieve them?
There will always be excuses as long as you are bent on giving them. Some common excuses are; the economy is bad, the weather is cold, I didn’t get a good education, my boss is too critical. These excuses will not get you anywhere. Losers make excuses, winners make progress!

The more disciplined you are, the more organized and more focused you will be. Most successful people around the world kept on working hard as a result of self-discipline. They realized that you become obsolete and irrelevant with time if you do not make the necessary progress and development required for your success.

Self-discipline is more important than anything else. Your ability to make yourself do what is required of you as at when due, whether or not your feel like it, is the major key to success. There might be a lot of principles for success, but self-discipline is the major principle that helps us adhere to other principles. Self-discipline is self-control and self-mastery.
Successful people do what is hard and necessary first; and then they enjoy the rewards afterwards.
Self-discipline is a habit that you can learn with practice and repetition. Once you practice it over and over again, the habit becomes wholly a part of you.

There are a lot of things in life that you probably would not like to do. These are things that contain stress, potential failure, rejection, hard work etc. Well, as is the case with most things or ventures in life, the greater the risk, the greater the reward received. You can only achieve your big dreams by tackling those big, scary or stressful issues and coming out on top.

In no particular order, we will go through some different forms of discipline;

1. Discipline of clear thinking: this is very important because it determines the quality of your decisions. Your decisions determine the actions that you take, the actions that you take determine your results, and your results determine the quality of your life. Develop a habit of thinking things through and through. Creative and clear thinking has a lot to do with silence and most times it is important to write things out. Write out the current situation, your thoughts, the solution and the next clear steps.
2. Discipline of daily goal setting: Write down goals as though they already existed. This helps give your sub conscious mind a deadline. Make sure that your daily goals written are positive. This will help to re-program your subconscious daily. Strive to do everything in your set out goal(s) for the day. Every other thing that is written on your to-do list should not take priority for the day. This is like a script, so stick to the script.
3. Discipline of time management: It is a popular notion that every minute spent in planning saves ten minutes in execution. Disciplining yourself to plan your day before it begins will increase productivity by 25% – 50% according to research. Also, do not forget to organize by priority.
4. Discipline of courage: According to psychologists, the biggest obstacle to success is the fear of failure. The courage to face fear is a habit and is developed with practice. Just face it at once and say to yourself: I can do this!
5. Discipline of excellent health habits: The key to excellent health habits is to eat less and exercise more. Most successful people get up at five o’clock to work out for an hour before they start planning or organizing their day. When you exercise first thing in the morning, your brain releases endorphins which make you feel happy, creative more positive and more eager to get to work. Watch your meals and realize that you eat to live and do not live to eat.