The Power of Discipline

Each and one of us have unimaginable power that resides deep within ourselves but keep in hibernation, or we aren't even aware of the thought that we are lacking in this particular area. Let's talk about discipline, a skill that lets each unique individual do and deliver at peak performance. In layman's terms, discipline is highly related on how successful an individual can and will become.

Now you might think, "Who does this guy think he is?" "Is he even successful enough to be talking about discipline?". Don't get me wrong, I was once a person who didn't have any goals, aspirations, or purpose in life. I didn't have any plans or didn't even care where life was taking me. I knew in the back of my mind, the way I was living my life was not sustainable in the long run. That's when I decided to take a step back and reflect on how my life was unfolding.

Enough about me, I know you're here to know what the power of being self-disciplined can bring or improve in your own life. What I write here are strictly based off my OWN experiences and from people who I look up to and learn from. YOU will feel or experience certain situations and emotions in a different way.

You are on your own journey to greatness. For that reason, I want to add value to your life by sharing some of my knowledge in this particular niche. Take what you don't know and improve on what you do know.

Let's get started...

What is Self-Discipline?

A set of rules unique to a certain individual that builds up their character, beliefs, and the ability to perform or control how they act/behave in different situations.

1. You KNOW what you want out of YOUR life

Owning the habit of self-discipline will help you see yourself in a better or different light.

KNOWING what you want out of life is power within itself and it gives you that spark of motivation that can change your life in an instant, for the better.

TRULY knowing what you want for yourself can help you mold your unique set of rules that determines how well and far you can go on your journey or make important actions/choices every day that takes you a step closer in achieving your goals.

Another benefit of SELF-DISCIPLINE

2. You are able to SET BOUNDARIES

Now let me explain, before I was aware that I lacked self-discipline. I didn't have any boundaries or I didn't know what I truly wanted, meaning I went out with friends who did certain activities that I wasn't drawn into. Reason was, I'm afraid of missing out on what people call "FUN MOMENTS" or "NEW MEMORIES", and I didn't have anything important going on in my life at that time.

I'm not saying to stop hanging out with your friends, family, peers, or to stop making new memories. What I'm trying to say is, learn how to say "NO" to activities that don't energize you. Stop trading your precious time that you can use improving on yourself or your life for mediocre hangouts that DON'T add value to your life.

You don't need to please anyone and you don't need people to like you, you don't owe anyone anything. Focus on what's important for YOU and YOUR future, before accommodating anyone else.

Learning to say "no" and setting boundaries is a skill that most people have a hard time improving. Knowing what to focus on FIRST, improves your sense of responsibility, which then improves your overall discipline.

3. Self-Discipline > Motivation

Building the habit of self-discipline is more beneficial than relying on motivation, it builds CONSISTENCY. Being inspired and motivated is not a bad thing because it also helps on taking inspired action at the moment, but motivation alone WON'T help you keep on going when you start facing adversities.

REMEMBER! Don't rely too much on motivation but accept the feeling when it comes and appreciate it.

This is where building self-discipline comes into play. When you feel like nothing's going according to plan, you might feel like giving up, or you might even be scared. That's okay, that's what it means to be a human being.

The power of discipline helps you build persistence and consistency. Being persistent and consistent in taking action on what matters to you the most even when nothing is going right trumps motivation, and most successful people are persistent.

Once you start building and improving on this skill, your success is inevitable. It will not happen overnight, but I believe YOU will get to YOUR destination.

4. Mental Toughness

Mental toughness is a skill that pushes you past your failures or roadblocks while remaining positive, confident, and empathy towards yourself.

A major benefit of being disciplined is people who achieved a high level of self-discipline have a different level of mental toughness. They are calm and collected in every situation, they think things through. They are confident in and out of themselves that they don't need other peoples' approval, or they aren't afraid of confrontation.

Self-disciplined people know that they don't need to impress people to be liked, they aren't afraid of criticism, they don't care what people think of them, and it's much easier for them to brush off insults.

Discipline develops mental toughness, which can push you much further on your journey to greatness. Mental toughness is beneficial in everyone's journey because you are going to face adversities in life, it's inevitable.

How are you going to handle it?

Are you going to give up?

How are you going to react once you're met with this said roadblock?

How are you going to deal with criticism?

These are some of the questions that might pop in your mind, understand that these questions are meant to challenge your mental toughness and discipline.

Are you going to follow through on your word in achieving your goals? Or are you going to be like most people who when met with problems would just give up?

5. Self-discipline = FREEDOM

“Self-discipline is a form of freedom. Freedom from laziness and lethargy, freedom from the expectations and demands of others, freedom from weakness and fear – and doubt. Self-discipline allows a pitcher to feel his individuality, his inner strength, his talent. He is master of, rather than slave to, his thoughts and emotions.” – H.A. Dorfman, The Mental ABCs of Pitching

Aren't we all striving for freedom in our lives?

In a way, self-discipline can help you get rid of those feelings that makes you think you're not enough or not worthy of greatness. We want to break out of this chain of thinking, and be aware that it is only an illusion our brains is telling us.

Be disciplined enough to challenge yourself and improve on YOURSELF. Don't look at other people and compare yourself to them, you're on a different path than them.

I want you to be so disciplined that no amount of roadblocks, criticisms, doubt, or fear can stop you from achieving your ambitions and dreams.

In Conclusion...

Self-discipline plays a huge role in our lives, believe it or not. It shapes our character, beliefs, actions, relationships, and the way we see ourselves in our society.

Discipline is also critical if you want to achieve something, no matter how big or small that goal is. Discipline will always determine how well you can perform and deliver.

“It is important to draw wisdom from many different places. If we take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale.” - Iroh, Avatar - The last airbender

Take any kind of wisdom you can from this article and use it to improve on yourself. Improve on your skills and own who you truly are, don't shy away your true personality.

Be confident in your own skin and the right people and moments will come to you!

And of course, go for your dreams and strive for greatness! Whatever kind of venture you're in right now, I hope you enjoy the process and enjoy every moment of it!