Every day we have to make decisions. Wake up early and hit the gym or get an extra hour of sleep? Bring a healthy lunch for work or buy something when the lunch break is over? Put some extra money in your savings account or buy that new machine or pair of shoes you’ve been looking at all month?
Deep down, we know which actions bring the best results. But many of us struggle to make the best decisions – and don’t reach their full potential. How do we meet these challenges? Self-discipline is the answer.
Why is self-discipline important?
If you want to be successful and achieve your goals, self-discipline is the most important skill to master. Often the best decisions are not the fastest, easiest or most pleasant ones. Therefore you need to exercise a high degree of control over your emotions and behavior. Improving your ability to do what is best for you, regardless of your initial desire, is the only way to make steady progress in life. So if self-discipline is your basic skill, you will become more effective in everything you do.
7 Benefits of Self-Discipline
If you develop a stronger sense of self-control, you can expect many improvements in many areas of life. Here are seven benefits of self-discipline.
1- Improved health
First, improving your self-discipline leads to improved physical health. Controlling the quality and quantity of food you eat, establishing a regular fitness routine and drinking enough water will help you maintain a healthy weight, reduce your chances of illness and suffering and increase your chances of longevity and vitality later in life.
2- Greater academic and professional success
Next, self-discipline helps you make decisions that lead to higher academic and professional success. Sometimes you have to decide whether to study longer and spend time with friends or to stay late after work to finish a project and go home to relax. Self-discipline will help you realize the value of delayed gratification that pays off across the board.
3- Better relationships
Third, self-discipline improves your relationships because you become a person who fulfills his or her obligations. The people in your life learn that they can trust you, that you do what you say you will do, and that they see you more positively.
4- Better financial health
Another direct benefit of self-discipline is to gain better control over your finances. While it is more fun to spend money than to save, the disciplined individual sees the long-term benefit in putting money aside for bad times. This does not mean that you pinch pennies and sacrifice quality of life. Self-discipline should not make you unhappy. Instead, it’s about weighing the pros and cons and making decisions that will bring you closer to your goals.
Examples of financial self-discipline that does not require a complete restriction include regularly depositing a percentage of each paycheck into your savings account or sticking to a budget that allows a certain amount of money each month for discretionary spending. You can still enjoy the present, but not at the expense of your future.
5- Less regret
Another advantage of growing self-discipline is that you will feel less remorse because you make better decisions from the outset.
You will avoid such problems as using the wrong word at the wrong time because you are disciplined enough to think before speaking.
You will avoid jumping to conclusions, give yourself time to gather information before making decisions, and make decisions based on facts rather than feelings or opinions.
6- Improved time management
As the list of things vying for our attention gets longer and longer, it seems that time is often short. One of the best benefits of self-discipline is a better use of your time. For example, social media can be the ultimate time killer if you do not exercise self-control. While they can sometimes be useful, you can easily fall into the trap of mindlessly scrolling through news feeds when you could be doing other tasks.
7- Follow projects to the end
After all, self-discipline will help you to fulfill the tasks and projects you set yourself, even if you lose steam or desire. At the beginning of a new goal, motivation is always high. Whether it’s a new nutrition plan, a new business idea or even to some extent new relationships – when things are fresh, there’s nothing but excitement and stimulation ahead of you.
But over time, motivation fades, challenges arise, reality sets in, and it’s tempting to return to something more familiar or move on to the next shiny object. Exercising self-control and choosing to finish what you start, even if you lose motivation and desire, means not only that you have a handle on the finished project, but also that you have learned lessons and acquired skills that you would not have given up.
Concluding thoughts
As the American writer, philosopher and artist Elbert Hubbard once said: “Self-discipline is the ability to do what you should do when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not.” Understanding the importance of self-discipline and then taking steps to improve this most important skill is perhaps the best thing you can do for your personal development and the likelihood of lifelong success.
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Inside You’ll Find:
100 inspirational quotes
120 practical ways to boost your beauty, skincare & wellness routines
A 30-day Beauty Challenge
A 30-day Skincare Challenge
A 30-day Fitness Challenge
A 30-day Journaling Challenge
2020 Goals & Yearly Planner
Quarterly Goals Trackers
Quarterly Workout Planners
Monthly Planners
Monthly Self Care Planners
Monthly Self Love Affirmations
Monthly Notes Pages
Weekly Planners
Weekly Beauty Ritual Trackers
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