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If there is anyone who owes you a peaceful life, it is you. If you are waiting for anyone else to come to your rescue and make life better for you, then you will wait forever. It sounds harsh, but the sooner we come to terms with that truth, the better. Name any other person who understands your pain, your choices, your needs, your dreams, and everything about you better than yourself. Name anyone who can control your mind and actions better than you do.

If you ask yourself the relevance of these things to the topic, the answer still is: we have so much control over what happens in our lives than we realize. We know exactly what makes us cry or smile and the thoughts that pull us back or keep us going. Therefore, we have the power to control the more significant part of our environment. Where we are not able to control what happens around us, we at least can program our minds to deal with it. Creating an atmosphere of peace means creating a safe space for you to run to when faced with challenges. It is not the same as creating a fake world of happiness or running away from problems, as these only leave your issues with no one to attend to them, and they keep piling up. Instead, it is about your ability to remain sane and at peace as you face your problems head-on.

Why is it essential to create an environment of peace in your life problems, and how can you do it?

1. It is impossible to avoid problems. If you are doing anything with your life, you will run into the unknown, and these are the bumps in the road we need to navigate. Unless you have learned to create an environment of peace, you will most likely spend your short years of life miserable and running away from your problems.
2. Remaining calm in your life problems puts you in a better position to find the best possible solutions. The opposite will make you look for an easy escape without considering other consequences. You feel as though you are in a desperate position which blurs your view and pushes you to do the first thing that comes to your mind. This can go on to create more problems for you. Peace helps you stay positive.
3. Creating an environment of peace in life problems keeps you from magnifying your issues. Your problems may not be too bad or without an easy solution, but your lack of stability can cause you to feel helpless and make you panic.
4. Failing to find peace in your problems makes you vulnerable to manipulations and other schemes from predators. Some people are always ready to exploit those in need, and if you do not stay calm, you could quickly become a willing prey.
5. Calmly approaching life situations makes you stronger and wiser. You get to know how much you can take as you learn lessons on how to deal with problems and other people. You get to understand what to or what not to do to avoid facing the same problem in the future. More importantly, bravely facing situations makes you brave enough to face more challenging ones.
6. Learning to be at peace when facing problems preserves relationships and keeps you from making enemies. Remaining peaceful even where you feel you were wronged can keep you from ruining people and your relationships. You learn to handle issues calmly and choose words wisely. As a result, you create strong and meaningful partnerships too.
7. A peaceful environment in life problems makes you resilient. Obstacles cannot stop you from getting what you want because of your ability to remain sane in situations that would typically break you and instill fear in you. As mentioned previously, giving you a clear view of things and not making rushed decisions help you make calculated moves to keep you moving towards your dreams. Success will be your companion.

Below is how you can create an environment of peace;

Build mental strength – this is more important than physical strength. Without mental strength, you would not have developed physical strength. Mental strength allows you to control your thoughts, including how you process external factors that affect how you view yourself and life in general. You build mental strength by feeding your mind the right things and leaving no room for any form of negativity, among other things. Stay positive.

Build healthy relationships – stay away from toxic people who will make you doubt yourself and the beauty of life. Instead, build strategic relationships that align with who you want to be and surround yourself with supportive people who will also know how to give constructive criticism.

Learn to be content – contentment will help you stay in your lane. It protects you from peer pressure and living other people’s dreams while it enables you to appreciate who you are and what you have. However, this doesn’t mean that you should dream small. Instead, it means that as you dream big and continue to work hard, do not be tempted to think that your dreams are not good enough simply because others are seemingly doing better. The best way to do that is to understand that every individual has their life purpose and interests, and you have your own for a reason. Therefore, do not compare yourself to others. Instead, do the best you can to be the best you can be.

Forgive yourself – understand that it is natural to make mistakes. So forgive yourself for making them, learn, and keep on going forward.

Let go of the past – no matter what happens, you matter. Your failures, losses, and mistakes do not define you. So, given another chance, do not spend it regretting the past or daydreaming about what could have been. Instead, get up, dust yourself off, live and love life.

Do you feel you are the victim of bad circumstances? Or maybe that your circumstances have a massive effect on your life? If either of these sounds familiar, then it’s time for you to stop letting your circumstances define you and change your attitude so that you can change your life. 

Your Thoughts Affect Your Attitude 

You may be wondering just how you let your circumstance define you in the first place. This happens because you are thinking negative thoughts about your life because of your perception of what is going on around you. And when you do this, your negative thoughts are reflected in your emotions, actions, and ultimately, your attitude. That’s why the number one way to change your attitude is by changing your thoughts. 

Instead of thinking of the dismal facts surrounding your life, try starting each day with a positive thought and surrounding yourself with positive influences. This will help make your mindset more positive, and in the process,  you may notice that your attitude becomes more positive. 

Your Attitude Affects Your Interactions 

Although you may think that it doesn’t matter what your attitude is like in life, it does. When you have a certain attitude, you also speak and act in a certain way. And others will respond to your words and actions. 

Think of it this way, when you meet someone for the first time and have a negative attitude, they may not want to see you again. But that person could be an important contact to have on the journey to your success, and you just ruined it because of your attitude. This is why it is essential to your success for you to have a good attitude. And if you change your attitude, you’ll be able to change your life. 

Your Environment Is Neutral 

It seems easy to blame your circumstances for what is going on in your life. But your environment, no matter how you look at it, is neutral. It is a blank canvas that you can manipulate any way that you want. 

And you can use your attitude to manipulate this canvas to become anything you want. This means whatever your circumstances may be, you are the artist, and the power to change your life lies in your own hands.

Leave The Past Behind 

If you’ve decided that it’s time to change your attitude to transform your life, as mentioned above, it’s time to think positive thoughts. But beyond just that, it’s also time to leave the past behind. 

This means whatever you may have done, or whatever may have happened to you before, it’s time to forgive so you can move on. You need to know that you are responsible for everything which happens in your life. This means if you want to make your life better, you absolutely can. You don’t need the past telling you who you are or what to do. 

And once you stop thinking about the past constantly, you’ll find that you feel a lot less stressed and ready to face the future which is ahead. 

Overall, taking the leap to stop letting your circumstance define you is difficult. But if you are genuinely committed to changing your attitude, you can guarantee your life will follow. Just remember to watch what you think and how specific thoughts make you act. 

Don’t let your past define you, and instead treat your circumstances as your blank canvas for a new beginning. Before you know it, you will have a new positive attitude and be on your way to becoming the person you want to be.

We all want more self-control. It is common to fantasize how much easier life would be if eating right wasn’t such a struggle or a trip to the gym wasn’t such a fight with self. 

Self-discipline is a trait that you need to develop. You are not born with the ability. In fact, by following a few simple tips, you can start improving your self-discipline skills almost immediately. Here’s how: 

Understand What’s Particularly Tempting

We all have a weakness. Whether we can’t say no to the salty snacks or wind up staying up too late night after night, we’re looking at the same problem: A lack of self-discipline. By knowing what our triggers are, it’s a simple matter to defuse them. 

Change Your Environment

Once you know what tempts you, the simple solution is to remove the trigger from your environment. Salty snacks? Stop buying them. Staying up late? Remove the lightbulb from your bedroom. Don’t be afraid to get radical and more than a little creative. 

Set a Goal

Without a plan, how can you accomplish anything? Ask what you’re trying to change. What does your new future look like for you? Make an action plan to take you there.

Practice

Self-discipline doesn’t happen overnight. The only way you’re going to learn it is to practice it. Look at the plan you just created. What steps does it require? Push yourself to act on those steps, daily. 

Break Things Down

Change is more natural to make when the steps are kept small and very simple. Break things down to their smallest components. What’s something small you can do today to help you build the habit of self-discipline? 

Pay Attention to Your Body

Your physical health will always affect your willpower, so taking care of the basics, such as getting enough sleep and exercising regularly will help you to have better self-discipline. 

Gain a New Perspective

The moment you start thinking you have no self-discipline, or that your willpower is a finite resource, you start limiting yourself. By changing your inner dialogue, you’re more likely to have success. Remind yourself often: “I’ve got this.” It truly is about mind over matter. 

What’s Plan B?

When going into a difficult situation where you know self-discipline will be challenged, create a backup plan. Know before you begin just what you’re going to do if the worst happens. Implement as needed. 

Use Rewards

When you succeed in your goals, don’t be afraid to allow yourself a small reward. As human beings, we’re wired to work our best when we know we’re going to get something out the experience we want.

Know How to Move On

Screwed up? Forgive yourself. Keep going. It’s normal for everyone to mess up now and again. It’s what you do next that matters.

People with high levels of personal power will go far in their lifetime. They always seem to be successful at just about everything they do. Believe it or not, you have the personal power within you to become one of those people. 

In this article, we’re going to tell you five habits these people with high levels of personal power possess so you can become one of them and hone your ability. 

1) They pay close attention to how they think

Part of developing your personal power and maintaining it is focusing on how you think. The way you approach something is your most significant personal power; you can think how you want to think and feel how you want to feel. 

Those with high levels of personal power focus on the way they think. They know it’s okay to feel the emotions they feel and think the way they think, so long as they look at it the right way. They don’t blame their actions, decisions, emotions, or thought processes on anyone else; they take full responsibility. 

2) They forgive easily

Those who have high levels of personal power know that forgiveness is not only for the person who hurt them but also for themselves. When you harbor hatred and hold on to grudges, you hurt yourself first. Then it spills over into all your relationships. 

Forgiveness gives you the power and allows you to move on from the transgression and grow. You don’t have to forget the offense when you forgive, but letting it go will give you the power and the freedom to move past it. 

3) They set boundaries

Boundaries are an essential asset to developing and honing your personal power. Those with high levels of personal power set emotional and physical boundaries. Setting boundaries allows them to spend their time how they want and with whom they wish to. They don’t blame others for wasting their time or for forcing them to do anything.

These boundaries also play a role in the first point we made, how you think about things. You have the power to control what you do, how you view the time you spend, and who you blame. Those with high levels of personal power don’t blame others for anything; they take full control and hold all the power. 

4) They take responsibility

Those with high levels of personal power take full responsibility for their feelings and actions. You won’t hear these people saying that so-and-so made them feel a certain way or that someone forced them to do something. They take responsibility, control, and power over themselves. Only you control your emotions, actions, and choices. No one can force a person with personal power to do anything. 

5) They don’t complain. They problem-solve

You don’t get anywhere by merely grumbling and complaining. You have actually to look for a solution. Those with high levels of personal power don’t just whine and complain. They look for what they can do to fix the problem. That’s not to say that you can’t vent. You can. It just all comes down to the way you’re thinking and how you perceive the situation. 

Those with high levels of personal power get far in life. They tend to be successful at everything they do and hold the power in all situations. To be like them and develop and hone your personal ability, you have to learn from them and duplicate their habits. 

We hope this article helped guide you on your journey towards honing your personal power and making an effort to imitate these habits.

Deadlines are essential motivators in goal setting. That’s why the T, in SMART Goals, refers to the term time-bound. Time-bound means the time you allocate for you to complete your goal. An obvious start and end date for your goals are an influential piece of your goal-setting plan. When you set beginning and end times for yourself, you are better able to stay on track, give you the ability to focus on your goal, and provide you with something to work toward. Mini-deadlines will help you keep up the motivation because you will celebrate your smaller successes along the way. Deadlines will also help with time management, making your goal more easily accomplished. Managing your time well will help you allocate your time where needed, toward achieving your goal. Parkinson’s Law states that work will expand to fill the time allotted. So, be careful not to allow three months to complete a task when it could be done in one month.

Time-bound goals have a start and end date. Setting a time frame for yourself when you expect to complete your goal will give you a sense of urgency. Time-bound goals also keep you focused on the task you have laid out for yourself by prioritizing your everyday tasks. It’s easy to get caught up in the things we have to get done in life. Work and family obligations often take over. Having a mentor or being part of a mastermind group will keep you from letting other tasks take over. When the goal is time-bound, it helps keep the goal in the forefront, with a sense of necessity.

Mini-deadlines are another way that time-bound goals help ensure success. You can set yourself some smaller deadlines within your primary goal and reward yourself for those mini successes along the way. For example, let’s say your goal is to walk for 30 minutes, five times a week for three months, in the evening, when you get home from work, to get healthier. The deadline here is for three months. An example of a useful mini goal could be at the one week mark. If you check-in with yourself every Friday evening and you have followed through with walking for 30 minutes every evening after work for that week, you have completed your mini-goal. If you allow yourself a small reward for achieving the mini-goal, you will further solidify success.

If you have not achieved your mini-goal, examine why you have not accomplished your plan. Then make the adjustments necessary to achieve the goal. Making these adjustments will ensure you hit your final destination.

Time-sensitive goals are an essential part of the SMART Goals method. Setting deadlines will increase your productivity and help ensure your success.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret I learned years ago that has served me well. What you focus on comes to pass. When you practice gratitude, you train your mind to be more positive, which has some interesting physical implications. Practicing gratitude and positive thinking directly affects your brain chemistry. That’s right, by focusing on gratitude and happiness; you control the release of certain chemicals and neurotransmitters that influence how you feel both physically and mentally. Let’s take a look at how that works. 

More Feel-Good Hormones  

Focusing on happiness and gratitude leads to the release of two “feel good” hormones - dopamine and serotonin. These two neurotransmitters are responsible for those warm fuzzy feelings. Yes, there are other ways to get them, like exercise and chocolate, for example. But who wouldn’t want to increase these powerful antidepressants with something as simple as giving and receiving gratitude, for instance? This stresses the point that you can make your happiness. And it’s not just a mental exercise. Focusing on positivity, making a conscious effort to be more grateful and happier changes the balance of hormones and neurotransmitters in your body and brain. 

In short, practicing gratitude and the resulting feeling of happiness are a powerful strategy to beat depression and anxiety, often working better than prescription drugs - and without the nasty side effects. 

Fewer Stress Hormones  

When you are anxious or scared, the body releases stress hormones like adrenaline, cortisol, and the likes. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. It helps you react fast when you’re about to be hit by a car and make you run faster when you need to get away from someone. But it works against you and robs you of your health and wellbeing when it’s a response to something that isn’t a physical danger, like tax day or worrying about what your co-worker thinks of you. 

Stress hormones can lead to weight gain, depression, anxiety, and they take a toll on your heart. You know you should do what you can to reduce the stress you feel, and as it turns out, one of the most powerful strategies here is practicing gratitude and positive thinking. So choose happiness and know that you are doing wonders for your mental and physical health. 

So what’s the bottom line? When you are mindful of all of the things you are grateful for in your life, you can learn to appreciate all the good even in the midst of the bad and cultivate happiness. Stop waiting for the right person, the right circumstances. Don’t wait for happiness to find you. Be happy right now at this moment. And use gratitude to help you get there.

If success were accessible without hard work and determination, life would be uninspiring. It would be easy to commit to multiple pursuits because we would be overconfident in our ability to win at everything. The only problem with this would be difficulty in finding your niche and mastering a specific field. 

Setbacks pave the journey to fulfillment and challenge us to fight harder for our dreams. Victory is always much sweeter if accompanied by stories of the struggle along the way. There is something about stories of persistence and perseverance that inspire one to put all the effort to assure victory.

Never lose sight of the vision.

If your vision is important to you, you will not quit at the first sign of resistance or rejection. Giving up shows holes in your conviction. We often drive our children to succeed at the exact things we quit and failed at.  Your dream should inspire you to fight setbacks instead of imposing your dream on your children. It is, therefore, imperative to keep sight of the end goal at all times so that the stumbling blocks do not entice you to quit. If failure comes to a person determined to win at all costs, its impact is less likely to derail the vision. It becomes easier to pick yourself up, dust yourself up, and try again, which is the winner’s mindset.

Do not camp around failure. 

Thomas Edison tried over a thousand ways to build a light bulb and never failed once. What most people call failure, he called it, finding things that did not work. We use electric light bulbs in this present age as a testament to his perseverance. Had he chosen to quit at the tenth or nine-hundredth trial, his name would never have held any significance in the history books.

Behind every success story is a series of failures. The idea is drawing lessons from each one to help shape the dream better. When you fall in any endeavor, do not get comfortable on the ground. Do not over-analyze or second guess your ability. Instead, use failure as a light that shines on what works and what does not. When asked about the number of times he failed, Edison denied the label of failure and said he had just found a thousand ways not to build a bulb. Carry the same attitude, and you will persevere.

‘Do not change the goal; change the approach.’ Tony Robbins.

Patience pays.

The Chinese bamboo tree grows from a seed, which only breaks from the ground after five years. Imagine watering and nurturing a plant you cannot even see for five years. It is not a simple task, even though plenty is going on underground that you can not see. It takes a lot of patience and persistence to go through the whole routine year by year with no visible progress. If you drop the consistency of watering the seed at any point, it dies. In the fifth year, the seed breaks through the soil to grow upward at the recorded rate of three feet per day, which adds up to the full ninety feet of the famed tree being recorded within a month. Five years of labor with no results is easily swept away by the one month of remarkable growth.

It is equally important to be patient with your personal goals. You may not see the progress in the first few weeks or months or years, but if you are consistent in investing in your dream, the rewards have no choice but to come. Never drop the ball when watering and nurturing that dream, lest it dies before you can see the splendor of the impending victory. 

Do not cave even if you are the only believer left. 

As humans, we often depend on our family, friends, and colleagues for moral support. Sometimes, things can take an unusual turn from what we expected. It could take longer to build the dream. The same support system you started with can start doubting your vision. It often begins with slight hints that gradually become amplified. The first thing you will hear is, “at least you tried.” Understand they mean well when they say these things, but they are deadly. Get away from them. After that, they will start telling you to try a different avenue just because they do not see immediate results. Do not give in to those calls of defeat. If the vision is convincing, you would rather go it alone than give up because someone else does not believe in it. If you persist when they no longer believe, it is more rewarding when victory finally comes. The important thing is to stay the course, no matter how people around discourage you.

Quitting will always seem easier in the face of adversity, but easy always comes at a price. Giving up will always cost you as regret follows closely on its heel. You do not want to live with regret because you did not dare to push towards your dream.

Never stop doing what you love because you have encountered a snag in the race. Obstacle courses are more fun anyway.

Introduction 

Everyone has habits that cause a lack of productivity is some form or another. Whether you spend too much time on social media, spend too much money on clothes each month, or eat an unhealthy snack every night before bed, habits can become very powerful and hard to break. 

Although people often associate habits with ones that are detrimental to your health, habits can also be what makes one successful. Habits come from consistency, and by changing just a couple of aspects of your life each day, you can break these habits and turn them into beneficial ones. 

By staying consistent with your choices and being committed to breaking these habits, you can create a more productive lifestyle and feel more mentally stable.

Causes of Bad Habits 

Bad habits are often a result of boredom or attempting to forget about the stress going on in life. Bad habits are often easy ways to escape reality and forget about the negative thoughts that go on in your mind. Whether it be shopping to forget about the stress at home or watching the television for an extended period, there are ways to recognize bad habits and shift them for a more productive life. 

Rather than trying never to watch television or never keeping snacks in the house, there are ways to adjust these habits and be practical about change gradually. It can seem impossible for a chain-smoker to eliminate smoking from his life entirely but slowly replacing these bad habits can make the process more bearable and even exciting.

How to Break These Habits

There are many ways to think of bad habits in a more positive light by creating replacements that can be consistent in your life and realistic.

By sticking to a specific goal and being gradual in your efforts, you will be more willing to break bad habits and stay consistent over time.

• Choose a Specific Replacement: If you find yourself watching more television than you would like, but you are unsure of how else to spend your free time, read an enjoyable book. Books have been proven to be much better for your mental health and can keep you engaged and excited. By interestingly stimulating the brain, you will be able to stick to a consistent reading routine that is key to breaking the television habit.

• Work on Breaking the Habit with a Friend: Often, working on changing a habit with a friend can keep you much more consistent and motivated. If you are trying to stop snacking on junk food before bed, ask your husband to do it with you. This will cause you to keep each other accountable, and you will want to feel dependable.

• Get Rid of Any Instigates: Getting rid of things that trigger you to repeat these bad habits will ultimately make you less inclined to break them. If you keep junk food in the house but are trying to cut it out, you are allowing yourself to make excuses for yourself to give in to temptation. By keeping the junk food in the pantry to a minimum, you will be more consistent with your goals.

Why Consistency is Key

If you plan to follow a short-term diet plan or eat less junk food without being specific, bad habits will likely be more powerful than your determination. Making healthy choices in moderation rather than restricting yourself allows you to be more consistent with your lifestyle and get rid of the habits that are holding you back. 

Consistency allows you to stay consistent with breaking these habits and replacing them with new ones.

Do you want to develop good habits or change your bad habits into productive ones? Understanding the psychology of habit formation is essential to forming new habits or changing your old habits.  Knowing how a habit forms will help you create positive, useful habits and get rid of habits that could hurt you.

Habits Begin with Goals

Researchers at the University of Southern California found that habits come from a motivation to act.  The desired goal influences why a habit is formed.  The motivation can be positive, such as developing healthy eating habits or good study habits in college. 

Motivation can also come from avoidance, creating habits that help you have by keeping you away from troubling people or situations. Low self-esteem can lead to bad habits.  If you don’t feel that you deserve good things, you may develop bad habits that reinforce your beliefs by bringing you negative results.

Goals are centered on what end state a person wants to accomplish.  When an action brings a person closer to their goal, they will repeat and improve on it until it becomes a habit.  The goal could be general, like staying safe or being a better driver, or it could be more specific, like studying to get a degree or losing ten pounds.  The goal of bad habits is usually to escape some unpleasant reality or focus attention on something other than the underlying issue. 

Habits Develop in Three Stages 

Habits contain three stages in a repetitive loop.  Each time a person cycles through the loop, the habit becomes more formed and ingrained as a part of their behavior. 

The three stages are:

• Cue or Trigger Stage
• Behavior Stage
• Reward Stage 

Cue or Trigger Stage

The cue or trigger stage is the circumstance that causes a person to have a goal.  When something new happens, your mind processes the situation as either threatening or non-threatening.  You quickly form a goal to deal with the new situation by fighting, avoiding, or accepting the input. 

Each time you are presented with the same or similar situation, your mind referencesyour previous decision and causes you to act to fight, avoid, or accept it.  Without the cue or trigger, your brain won’t process the situation the same.  Habits are formed first by repeatedly being exposed to the same cue or trigger. 

Behavior Stage

Scientists at the University College London studied the behavior a person does when faced with a cue or trigger.  They found that the more a person performed the same action or response, the more efficient they became at carrying out the behavior.  Over time, the behavior becomes routine and required less thought to perform. 

It takes an average of 66 repetitions for a behavior to become a habit.  Some people develop habits more quickly, while other people need more time.  The emotions attached to the cue and behavior play a role in how fast something becomes a habit.  The stronger the emotions, the more the cue and behavior are reinforced.  

Reward Stage 

The reward for performing an action after a cue or trigger also forms the habit loop.  If an action helps a person to reach their intended goal, the reward signals their brain that the action is useful each time they encounter that cue or trigger.  They will repeat the action over and over to reach the reward. 

As an example, imagine yourself driving a car.  One of the rules of driving is to use a turn signal.  But knowing the rules isn’t enough to form a habit. 

However, if each time you drive and use the turn signals properly, you are able to safely change lanes or make a turn, the reward of safe driving reinforces your action and helps you meet your safety goal. You begin to use the turn signal automatically or habitually, unlike a new driver who must think about using the turn signal when they first start driving. 

Conversely, if you don’t use turn signals and still arrive safely, not using them becomes a bad habit. Your mind won’t make the connection between the action of using the turn signal and driving safely if there is no reward associated with the action.  

Habits Can Be Changed

Once something becomes a habit, you no longer consciously think about taking that action.  Changing a habit requires changing all three parts of the habit loop.  Smoking is a dangerous and unhealthy habit.  To stop smoking, a person must have a different goal than to have a cigarette.

When they are presented with a cue or trigger, like having a drink or after meals, they need to change their action. People trying to stop smoking often chew gum instead when they are cued or triggered to have a cigarette.  The reward of feeling better reinforces the new action until it becomes a new habit and the old habit is replaced. 

Self-discipline is inarguably one of the best skills you can have if you expect to be successful in life. There are many ways to build self-discipline, of course. And since not everybody shares the same goals, it manifests differently depending on who you ask or observe. But if you look across the board, you will find a pattern. Here are six traits that most highly self-disciplined people have in common.

                                    Six Traits Of Self-Disciplined People                   

1- Greater Self-Confidence

Do people who have more self-confidence also exhibit more self-discipline? Or is it that those who are more disciplined achieve more of their goals, and thus have more reasons to be confident?

Either way, the first trait many self-disciplined people have in common is greater self-confidence as compared to those with less self-control.

If you want to improve your self-discipline, it’s helpful first to consider your self-perception and self-worth. 

2- Structure & Routine

Secondly, you may have read that successful people rise earlier in the morning than their less-successful counterparts. But many don’t fit this description.

What disciplined people have in common isn’t specific times of day they rise or exact means of scheduling their time. It’s that they value and follow a routine of any variety.

Creating consistent habits in the form of steady routines can help you put much of your life on auto-pilot. Taking the guesswork out of many daily decisions is an effortless way to improve your self-discipline. 

3- Clearly Defined Goals

Third, everybody has goals. But the highly self-disciplined individual will have goals that are crystal clear.

How many people say “I’m going to be a millionaire by the time I’m forty”? That’s a goal, for sure. Someone with a high level of self-discipline would say, for example, “I’m going to be a millionaire by the time I turn forty, and I’m going to do this by…”. They would have a much clearer goal, a plan to execute it, and already be working toward reaching it.

If you want to uplevel your self-discipline, work on clarifying your goals. Select meaningful goals that are specific, timely, and have clearly defined steps that you can work on each day. 

4- Prioritize Self-Care

Next, a common trait of disciplined individuals is that they prioritize self-care. They understand that maintaining optimal health is crucial to remaining productive and sticking to their plans even when they don’t feel like it.

They are more likely to exercise regularly, eat healthfully, and get enough rest.

These people understand the importance of balance between work and play and make sure to incorporate enough of both into their lives. To most successful people work, and play is the same thing. You may look at a successful person and tag them with the title workaholic because you have been taught they can not stop working. You were not taught this from someone who enjoyed how they made their living.

How is your self-care routine? Most people could use a little work in one or more areas. Take some time to consider your physical, mental, social, financial, and spiritual wellness.

Commit to improving just a little in one or more areas, and see if your self-discipline increases as a result.

5- See Challenge As Opportunity

Self-disciplined people also are more likely to lean into challenges and adversity. A benchmark of self-discipline is to be relentless in the pursuit of your goals.

The thing is, there are always challenges in life. Things don’t always go to plan. Obstacles get in the way, and what separates self-disciplined people from those who aren’t, is that they believe every problem has a solution.

Additionally, they recognize that the more problems they solve, the more experience they have. They understand adversity only helps them grow, and they use that knowledge as fuel to keep moving forward despite the difficulty.

If you struggle with sticking to commitments you’ve made to yourself, consider why? Is it because you hit a challenge and backed away? Consider how you may change your response the next time something similar comes into play, and how you can grow from perseverance. 

6- Strong Boundaries

Finally, people with self-discipline and self-control have healthy boundaries. They know their worth, the value of their time, and have a clear roadmap for life.

Whereas many people struggle with saying “no” at times, preferring to “go with the flow,” those with self-discipline know the importance of weighing their options. They make decisions to further their goals once the decision is made they do not second guess themselves and change their minds.

How do you feel about your boundaries? How could you improve?

Final Thoughts

People sometimes assume that self-discipline means living a hard life, waking up long before the sunrise even if you’re a night owl), making extreme sacrifices, and living a dull life of all work, no play. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

Self-discipline manifests differently in the lives of different people, yet if you look closely enough, you’ll find common traits that present all across the board.

You may think that developing discipline is about limitations. This thought has probably been reinforced by previous attempts at changing your bad habits. It is very empowering to create self-discipline. Think back to when you managed to make a change in behavior that was successful, how did you feel? When you overcome obstacles in your path and accomplish something with consistent work, you feel like you can do anything. 

 When you are not self-disciplined, you often do not accomplish your goals and feel like you are not worthwhile. You tend to put yourself down more and, in general, have a more negative outlook on life.  You may set yourself up for health issues, in particular those related to obesity, or have trouble in your relationships with friends and family. 

Successful people do not get there just because of luck. They make goals, plan how to achieve them, and then use discipline to form habits that help them accomplish those goals and plans.  They do make mistakes. They do have obstacles. They may even modify the goals or go in a different direction based on working on those original plans. But, they do not quit.

If you want to succeed, you need to develop habits through self-discipline. You may want to get rid of bad habits like watching tv, social media, and overeating. You may want to form good habits such as exercising, reducing clutter, reading more books, watching less television, or saving money. You can accomplish these habit changes if you focus on one or two at a time, and consistently act on those goals over time. One is best, though if you are trying to lose weight, you may find it better to combine dietary changes with exercise.

The biggest obstacle to discipline is not lack of willpower, but a desire for instant gratification. Especially in modern society, everything seems focused on having things done quickly. People eat instant oatmeal or cold cereal instead of having a cooked breakfast. You grab a burger at a fast-food restaurant instead of bringing a healthy lunch to work. Television commercials tell you that you can have this or that right now if you pay by credit card. The problem with that, of course, is the interest you later have to pay on those purchases.

You can improve things where you are not in debt, are healthy and fit, and have stable relationships, but it will require giving up instant gratification and adopting self-discipline. It will not be easy, but you will find it quite empowering to achieve your goals for a better life.

One way you can develop more discipline is to use challenges. This makes it more like a game and less like a chore. Also, there can be an element of competition with others and having others help hold you accountable, which improves your odds of success.

Challenges are very beneficial, and you can find them in many places. Or you can make up your own and share it with a group of people. You also can make your own challenge or use one from someone else to challenge yourself. However, you end up doing it is up to you.  

When looking to see if a challenge will be useful to you, there are some factors to look for, so you can best benefit. Is the challenge realistic? You want to stretch yourself, but not to the point where you have no chance of success. For example, you could challenge yourself to lose 30 pounds in 30 days, but that is not very realistic. You also want the challenge not to be too easy. You need to see if you have the time to devote to it. Be sure to include time for learning new things, For example, if you challenge yourself to build a new blogging website in 30 days, remember that if you have never done one before, you will have to learn some things and that will be extra time above just writing the blog posts. 

If the challenge is a large one over a more extended period, are there clear-cut milestones along the way to help you have a sense of accomplishment? If your challenge, for example, is losing 60 pounds in a year, you need to set up smaller weight goals along the way so you can keep up the momentum.  Milestones also help you see if you need to tweak the challenge, either lower or higher. If you lose 10 pounds in about two months, you are right on schedule. If you have only lost 5 pounds in that same time, though, you may need to lower the amount you plan on losing in a year. Now, to still reach your goal, you will need to either add some foods and or limit the intake of other foods.

When you do a group challenge, you have some added benefits. There is a sense of camaraderie when working together on a goal that you do not get just competing with yourself. Other people can give you ideas, too. For example, if you are in a group losing weight, people can share healthy recipes and support. Just remember that the primary person you compete with is not the others, but yourself and you can enjoy doing a group challenge.

If you are looking to lose weight. I lost over 50 pounds in a year. My experience is in the book "Something Has To Change". Click on the link below to get a copy of my book.

When you develop self-discipline, you have many beneficial results. These include a sense of accomplishment, more self-respect, and a better understanding of what you can do. The most significant benefit of self-discipline is after a while, you no longer need discipline because it becomes a habit. 

Discipline is not easy, but it is well worth it. Set a goal and work on the goal every day until the goal is reached, you will have a sense of accomplishment that few attain. You stuck with your dreams and made them materialize. Think back to when you had a goal and worked on it every day until it was done. How did you feel? 

When you discipline yourself to accomplish a goal, you also increase your self-respect. Think of the people you have the most respect for, and why you respect them. Chances are one of those reasons is that they have self-discipline. They set out to do something, and they accomplish it. 

By doing the same for yourself, you can have more respect for who you are as a person. When you do not use self-discipline, you will feel less of a connection to yourself. You will find that you have lower self-esteem as well, and are more likely to fall into negativity. 

You learn more about what you can do. When you set goals and challenge yourself to meet them, you need to follow through. When you do that, you will find out that you can overcome obstacles that you might have thought were too difficult, You learn more about who you are and what you can accomplish when you set your mind to it. 

A lot of times, people put limitations on themselves that is not accurate. Think about something you think is not possible. Is it impossible, or are you setting an artificial boundary? One way to find out is to set a goal and make it happen. If you are a couch potato, you cannot immediately run a marathon, but over time as you build up your body with increasingly more intense exercise, you can. 

 Now it is your turn. Figure out a goal that you want to do and set up milestones along the way. Then each day do something to make those milestones happen. It does not have to be anything major, just one more small step on the way to your final goal. When you reach that ultimate goal, take stock of how you feel about yourself and what you are capable of doing.