Episode 16
Discipline: A Tool for Success
Your Health, Wellness & Happiness is a continuous, concious effort. Discipline is the tool that you can always keep in your back pocket for when you need help maximizing any goal- especially when it’s a Health, Wellness & Happiness goal.
But which comes first, motivation or discipline? And which one will help bring more success into our lives?
Episode 16 discusses the difference between motivation and discipline, gives you 5 daily life exercises you can use to build your discipline muscle, and a challenge to help get you started.
Let’s talk about all of it!
Show Notes
Here is where you can find any information/links/etc. talked about on the show…
Psychological definitions for self-control or willpower
1
The ability to delay gratification, resisting short-term temptations in order to meet long-term goals.
2
The capacity to override an unwanted thought, feeling, or impulse.
3
Conscious, effortful regulation of the self by the self.
What Americans Think of Willpower
A Survey of Perceptions of Willpower & Its Role in Achieving Lifestyle and Behavior-Change Goals
ttps://www.apa.org/topics/stress/willpower.pdf
Episode 16 Challenge
These are the 5 life exercises we discussed in episode 16 that you can implement into your day-to-day to help you start building your self-discipline muscle.
Your challenge:
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Choose at least 2 of these exercises and implement them into your day for one week.
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You can pick more, but the minimum is 2
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Whatever areas of your life that you feel you are lacking in discipline, apply at least 2 of these exercises to that area
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Time to clean out the old, bring in the new, and consistently work on improving your chosen area of life through added discipline.
01
Develop Self-Awareness
You don’t know what you don’t know, so in order to start making changes, you need to become aware of your habits.
Once you begin to be more aware of what, when, where, why, and how, you can begin to exercise more self-control.
02
Believe that you have willpower.
Every time you say, “I wish I had will power” or, ” Oh man, I have no willpower” you are reinforcing the limiting belief that you have no willpower.
When you can begin to see your self-discipline as an unlimited resource in your tool kit you instead reinforce positive habits.
03
Move Your Body
Regular exercise or physical activity is paramount to all aspects of your life, even self-discipline.
You gain or enhance your capacity for self-control by simply practicing it. Even if you start with only 5 minutes at a time.
04
Stop Shaming Yourself
You are a living, breathing human who wants to enjoy life, so STOP hating on yourself when you do “give in” to temptation. Just because you “gave in” doesn’t mean you are somehow a bad person, morally inadequate, or incapable of self-control.
Shaming yourself does ZERO to help you learn new habits.
05
Remove the Temptation
If you are having difficulties with a certain habit, then consider limiting access, removing the temptation all together, reducing the size of something that’s kept in the home, changing a schedule, etc. This way whatever that thing is, it is no longer the same type of temptation.
