In order for your thoughts and ideas to come to life, you must have discipline. Discipline is developing a steady behavior by practice. Without discipline, you won’t get very far in your efforts.
There are a few ways you can enhance your discipline skills. Depending on your goals, discipline can be very easy or very difficult.
Eating ice cream everyday is a discipline. It’s not a good discipline, but it is a behavior that was practiced and maintained. Actually, it takes more discipline to stop eating ice cream everyday.
Exercising everyday is also a discipline, but in this case, a hard one to practice and continue. You need more concentration to enforce this habit, because it’s not as easy or fun.
No matter what the habit is, discipline is needed to constantly reinforce it. We think of discipline as something hard to do, but in the long run, it’s a great quality to develop.
Create a schedule. You can’t go wrong with this. Everyday, at a certain time, do your task. Improve yourself everyday at that specific time. Read a book, every night at 8pm, instead of watching that reality TV show. Work on your master plan every morning at 5am, instead of sleeping in. If it promotes your self-improvement, make time for it.
Use positive reaction. Let’s say you’re trying to drink 8 glasses of water a day, but it’s just so hard to do. In this case, find something around you that will trigger you to drink. Every time your phone rings, drink. Every time someone says your name, drink. Every time you smile at someone, drink. This will encourage small wins throughout your day, towards a bigger purpose.
Remove distractions. Developing strong discipline requires you to put yourself in a better environment. Wherever you find distractions that pull you away from your goal, remove it. Don’t walk down the ice cream aisle in the grocery store, if that’s what you’re trying to avoid. If you’re trying to stop sleeping in, set your alarm clock to the most annoying sound to wake yourself up.
Eliminate excuses. Making excuses is the main reason why discipline doesn’t work. You are in control of what you do and how you do it. Where there are excuses, there is no discipline. There is no reason why you are unable to win, when it comes to building a positive routine that leads to success. You are responsible for driving your life. When you stop making excuses, discipline can take you to the next level.
These are only a few ways to develop your discipline muscle, but you can come up with more custom ways that work for you.
Once you master one habit through discipline, start another one. Not only does it reinforce your productivity, it will definitely lead to many accomplishments.
It takes effort to be disciplined. Grow towards your potential today by starting small and sticking with it!
As a senior in college, I had three jobs. Two jobs were paid and one was an internship. As a full-time college student, there was a lot on my plate.
I went to school Monday through Friday. I worked during the week and on the weekends, as well. It was a nonstop schedule, but I liked the challenge of making it work.
Back then, my energy wasn’t a problem. You wouldn’t hear the words, “I’m tired,” come from my mouth. We were college students, who had time to be tired?
When I went out with friends, I always had money – my money. I never had to wait on my parents to send me money or bug them about it. With two paying jobs, I was financially set (at least as a college student).
I had to plan my time carefully. There wasn’t any room for forgetful mistakes. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I went to class from 8am to 2pm. Afterwards, I would do homework and catch the bus by 4pm to go to work.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I had classes from 8am to 11am. I would go to my internship from noon to 4pm.
After work during the week, I would go to the library and study from 9pm until it closed at midnight.
On Saturday and Sunday, I worked from noon to 6pm. This was my schedule for an entire year.
Fast Forward To Now
When I think back on how I managed it all, it amazes me. If you asked me to do that same schedule today, it would surely be a challenge.
Things have changed over the years. Since technology has made most things easier, it seems as though life should become easier.
Instead of physically going to three jobs, seven days a week, I probably could’ve worked from my dorm on a computer. Maybe, instead of waiting for the bus, I could’ve called Uber. Going to the bank to deposit my check could have been replaced with direct deposit.
All of these things could have saved me energy, money and time. It sounds easy in theory, but we still have a tough time with these things today.
Making the Most Out of Your Energy, Money and Time
Your energy, money and time are the most important habits to develop in life. Not only can distractions take up your time and drain your energy, if you’re not careful, it can cost you money, too.
Being responsible with your energy, time and money can be beneficial. Everything you do in life, at some point, will intersect with at least one of these qualities. Having low energy, no money and no sense of time, will stall any progress you intend to make.
Also, it sets a solid foundation for your work ethic. It allows you to be dependable, trustworthy and responsible. You’ll have the ability to take on any situation, in a professional manner.
All of these qualities don’t happen on their own. Like anything else, it will take discipline and focus to reach your desired results. As you practice these skills, it will give you the confidence towards building a better you.
3 Things You Never Want To Waste
As you get older, you’ll learn there are 3 things that will slip away from you, if you aren’t careful.
Energy
Having the ability to do something for a period of time, without easily being worn down, is energy. There is physical energy and mental energy.
The good thing about both types of energy, is that it can be replenished. If you become tired, all you need to do is rest or get some sleep. Like a cell phone, you’ll charge back up and be ready to go!
You’ll want to direct your energy towards the most important things throughout the day. We experience peak energy times at various points and should take advantage of them.
Eating healthy and exercise contributes to our energy levels. Food is fuel for the body. Sometimes, we can get sidetracked by how good something tastes and indulge a little too much. This is what slows us down in our day-to-day actions.
Food is meant to give us energy. It helps to carry us through the day, even when stress is present.
Mental energy can be regulated, as well. When it comes to making decisions, our mental energy can easily become depleted. Routines and rituals can help preserve your mental energy for more difficult decisions.
Protecting your mind from negative energy is a habit that demands constant practice. It gives you a chance to improve and to become the ultimate thought leader.
Money
Being attentive to your finances will serve you well in life. The earlier you learn to control your money, the better off you’ll be.
People have different opinions about money. Some view it in a negative way, while others see the opportunity it can provide.
Money is versatile. It has the ability to support your lifestyle and to help you achieve goals. No matter how you see it, money is a resource that could help or harm any situation. In this book, we will learn how to manage it for our benefit.
The good thing about money is, if you lose it, you can always make more. As long as you apply the knowledge that guided you in the first place, you should never be broke.
Time
Time is the only resource that cannot be replaced. You can rest to restore your energy and you can replace money by working. No matter what you do, time cannot be captured, nor recovered.
The only way you can rewind or fast forward time is on a recording. It is a measurement that keeps going at a steady pace everyday, yet, it never stops.
We all depend on time. From the moment we wake up, to the moment we fall asleep, there are countless responsibilities that need to be handled. Without it, we wouldn’t be nearly as productive.
People always tend to put things off until tomorrow. Think of how much time has been wasted, every time we say that. Time doesn’t consist of ‘rollover minutes.’ Once it’s over, there’s no way to get it back. Therefore, we should learn how to use it wisely.
These are the 3 things that will carry you through all aspects of life, from beginning to end. Depending on how you respond, these habits will determine how easy or hard your journey will be.
We’ve all heard people say:
“I wish I had more energy.”
“I wish I had more money.”
“I wish I had more time.”
This doesn’t have to be you. Learn how to maximize your energy, money and time. The earlier you learn this, the better off you’ll be. Even if you’re older, you can still learn how to save it all.
Once you get these 3 habits down to a science, your quality of life will improve. The foundation you are building will make you mentally and physically stronger, financially capable and mindfully conscious. You will become the person you’ve always wanted to be.
Let’s start your journey.
Excerpt from the personal development series, “Help! I’m Stuck: How To Increase Your Energy, Master Your Money and Control Your Time.”
We hear people say, “I got lucky.” Luck does exist to an extent, but it’s not something you want to depend on blindly to carry you through life.
They type of luck we’re talking about is built on intentional effort. You can create your own luck by having discipline, focus and being persistent. Build your foundation by creating your own luck, using these 3 characteristics:
Discipline. Being able to do things when you don’t feel like it, takes discipline. Getting up earlier than normal to put in extra work, takes discipline. Trying again after you failed 2 times before, takes discipline. Moving forward after people have criticized your efforts, takes discipline. Exercise your discipline muscle everyday – it’s the only way you will see results.
Focus. Giving strict attention to one thing is focus. It’s not jumping up to answer the phone when it rings. Your focus allows you to work on your goals fluently, without giving in to interruptions or distractions. Get focused if you want to see your luck happen.
Persistent. You can’t have luck if you give up. Being persistent is what makes luck happen. Giving in just because you’re tired is the weak approach. Persistence is continuing the process until something happens. Nothing short of death will stop you from making progress. This is what luck is made of.
As you can see, getting lucky takes hard work. No matter what your goal is, discipline, focus and persistence will create your luck, every time. No magical outside forces are needed to make it happen.
What attracts being unlucky? Mindlessly watching television, gossiping, scrolling through junk on social media and having desperate, uninspired conversation.
These things don’t contribute to luck because they don’t lead to productivity. Laying around in bed, waiting for life to happen, is a sure way to being unlucky. It doesn’t enhance your plans in any way.
It’s easy to be unlucky, but it takes positive and mindful action to become lucky. Think about your end goal and work backwards to where you are now. Take the first step. No more research, but physical action – making that phone call, eating that salad, or walking for 20 minutes.
By utilizing these 3 characteristics of luck, you can create your success many times over. Begin with baby steps.
Don’t do what everyone else is doing – whatever they’re doing isn’t going to help you. Create your own luck.
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