Top 12 Exercises for Your Self- Discipline Training

When any person succeeds in something, it’s not luck that makes it happen but self-discipline and control over one’s emotions, actions and thoughts.

“We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort”. – Jesse Owens

Whether we talk about personal life, nutrition, sports, study or career, it all starts with self-discipline. It’s not about skills you have or your physical abilities. You are capable of much more than you think only if you learn how to discipline yourself to do things you don’t really want to. I always keep saying to myself that if I don’t have something, I don’t want it desperately. But if you have self-discipline on your side, everything becomes possible because this is what keeps your goals closer and makes you confident.

Then how to take control over yourself and finally get down to things which matter to you? No wonder some people manage to do things that used to be unreal for them once while others fail again and again. It requires strong mind and motivation to do something day by day despite laziness and busy time schedule. These 12 exercises will help you stay motivated and focused on your desired goals:

1. Develop habits

It’s in human nature to get addicted to habits, either good or bad. The majority of things we do daily are habitual and you just need to develop right habits that will become a part of your life. The most difficult part of it is doing something if you don’t see any visible results. It’s like in exercising – the first 21 days will be determining in whether you make it a part of your lifestyle or abandon. Until then, the motivation is quite weak. Our mind is capable of getting used to many more habitual processes than just mundane activities like preparing morning coffee, taking a shower or brushing teeth. Use your brain for your advantage, find the real necessity in doing certain things.

2. Get rid of temptations

Temptation is a strong weapon as it’s something relaxing or something we adore. Yet, sometimes it’s just something that is not right to do. What you can do about them is removing all the distractions and factors that do not allow you to stay focused. If you need to work or study, use tools that will block your access to social media websites, turn off your phone. Ask your friends not to invite you to parties or other places you might get tempted with. Gone on a diet? Then ask your colleagues not to send you a lunch menu. Do not buy unhealthy foods not to get tempted with them at home. The fewer temptations surround you, the fewer chances you will get distracted.

3. Imagine yourself succeeding

Whatever you are up to, always imagine what could happen when you are already there. Visualize your success and allow yourself to dream a bit. If you really like what you see, you have more chances to succeed with what you’ve started.

4. Create a visualization board

This is the tactic I learned from one of my most motivated friends. Take a large board that you can hang on the wall. Then collect a range of images that illustrate your most desired goals and pin them on this board. Do not just use cards with words – use bright images instead so that you could clearly see someone fit or happy with their children or successful at work. This will help you not just visualize your dreams in your mind but always have your goals in front of your eyes. Constantly look at your board and ask yourself what has been done to bring each of them to life.

5. Analyse successful people

Try to communicate more with people who succeeded in something you are up to. No need to ask them what they’ve done to do it. Analyse their day schedule, how much time they have for working on this and what skills they have for it. You will soon realize that their time is limited too and they have quite a lot of distracting things, but somehow they manage to do something that others fail. I always keep repeating to myself that the most successful people in the world have as many hours a day as I have – only 24. And it’s up to me how to use them.

6. Eat and sleep well

Hunger and fatigue won’t let you concentrate on your goals as the only thing you will think about is a good sleep or proper meal. Don’t ever think that the less you sleep the more you’ll manage to do. Your concentration and memory will suffer, your mind will be blurred and your focus will get lower.

Always have healthy snacks to let your brain get enough energy to function properly. And don’t forget to have proper healthy meals. Healthy food and sleep will not only clear your mind but let your body work properly. There is nothing worse than exercising when you are physically powerless. So this way, it won’t be possible to make exercising your favorite habit.

7. Don’t wait for a perfect moment to come

Postponing things for the next day or week will only make you get used to postponing. Your perfect moment is now and the sooner you start the sooner you will see some good results. Even if you don’t do your best initially, you will be very grateful you started at that very day. For students, for example, an early start is vital as it will drastically affect their final result and finding a job after graduation.

8. Be grateful for those things you’ve achieved

We spend too much time dreaming about something. But each of us got something in life, something we’ve been working on and finally received. Create a list of all those things or skills you’ve achieved and you will look back and realize that you actually made no tremendous efforts to get it all. Sometimes it was harder and sometimes easier, but now it looks easier than you thought back then. Believe me or not, but you will feel the same about every next challenge you go through and every goal you achieve.

9. Forgive yourself for wasting so much time

Whenever you start with something, you might literally hate yourself you didn’t start earlier. Students will understand perfectly well what I mean here. Just stop torturing yourself – it’s never too late to keep up.

10. Stay organized

Never lose your organizational skills whatever you deal with. You will always have to combine dozens of tasks daily – study, custom paper, friends, sports, dancing classes, etc. If you find it difficult to always stay organized, use special time management tools, apps and calendars not to store everything in your head. In addition, they will be good reminders to scratch your head and get down to something you planned to do.

11. Don’t let the problems scare you

Whenever complexities or other more urgent plans occur, accept this fact and create a strategy how to schedule your activities in a different way. For example, if you have an urgent trip and won’t be able to work during that time, spend some time reading good and informative articles on your subject or study a foreign language when traveling.

12. Keep track of your progress

It is always easier to move on if you see how quickly you are progressing. Take language tests regularly if you started studying a foreign language or read your previously written articles to compare them to your today’s style.