How to be more disciplined (when you’ve never been before)!

It’s that time of year again… Seems like everyone is ready to get back on track, lose the weight, cut out the carbs, train for a marathon, grow a 7-figure business?

I’m not here to help you with any of that, but I do want to stop in and share my 2 cents about how you can be more successful at ALL of that if you want!

There are lots of things that contribute to your happiness and what you can achieve in your life. However, the most important quality to ensure you have long-term success in all aspects of your life is self-discipline. It is the number one trait that you need to accomplish your goals, lead a healthy life, and be happy.

Despite what you might think (or how much you’ve failed at change in the past), you can learn to become more self-disciplined in your life.

Here are my 4 tips for flexing that self-discipline muscle and gaining better control over the things you want to have control over in your life:

Remove Temptations

Removing temptations and distractions from your environment is the critical first step for improving your self-discipline. As the old saying goes, “out of sight, out of mind.” If you are trying to improve your focus at work, turn off your cell phone, organize your desk, and remove distracting clutter. If you’re trying to stop eating ice cream at midnight… stop buying ice cream! Start setting yourself up for success by eliminating the bad influences.

Eat Regular, Healthy Meals

Recent studies have determined that low blood sugar weakens your resolve. Your ability to concentrate decreases when you’re hungry because your brain is unable to function at its best. Hunger increases your likelihood of having a weak sense of self-control and makes it difficult to focus on the tasks in front of you. Those “Snickers” commercials are right… You’re not you when you’re hungry! To keep yourself on track, make sure you eat healthy snacks throughout the day to ensure you are well fueled. Have an apple with peanut butter instead of a Snickers, okay?!

Don’t Wait

Being able to improve your self-discipline means that you have to begin to change up your routine, which can be uncomfortable. To break old habits and form new ones, you have to make active decisions. Your brain will resist the changes you are trying to make because it has been programmed to embrace the bad habits you've established. To counteract this, you have to acknowledge that it will take time, and take the appropriate action now. Fall off the wagon on day 1? Don’t sweat it… Try again the next day and see if you can make it twice as long!

Reward Yourself

When you are working on increasing your self-discipline, it doesn’t mean that you go at it like a drill sergeant. When you give yourself zero wiggle room, you are more likely to fail. Learn to schedule specific times during your journey to reward yourself for the hard work you’ve already accomplished. Improving your self-discipline can be hard, set yourself up for success and reward yourself for your effort.

Learning to improve your self-discipline is going to take commitment, hard work, and a lot of grace. You will stumble and that’s okay! Incorporating these four methods into your daily routine will help you get started on the right path and help you reach your goals faster in the coming year and beyond!