{"id":31693,"date":"2015-04-01T23:32:05","date_gmt":"2015-04-02T07:32:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=31693"},"modified":"2015-04-05T09:58:19","modified_gmt":"2015-04-05T17:58:19","slug":"build-self-discipline-4-easy-steps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/build-self-discipline-4-easy-steps\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Build Self-Discipline in 4 Easy Steps"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

<\/p>\n

Harry S. Truman once said, \u201cIn reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves\u2026 self-discipline with all of them came first\u201d.<\/p>\n

But for the rest of us, self-discipline often comes second\u2026 if at all.<\/p>\n

Every day, we admit defeat to self-indulgence when we choose to snooze over waking up early, watch T.V. instead of study and eat junk food when we should exercise.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no doubt about it: if you want to achieve your goals, be it lose 14 pounds, write a best-selling children\u2019s book, start a non-profit or enroll on an online class, you need to build self-discipline.<\/p>\n

But self-discipline isn\u2019t something we should be afraid of and contrary to popular belief, it isn\u2019t that difficult to build\u2026<\/p>\n

Once you know how.<\/p>\n

Step 1: Start with ONE Habit<\/strong><\/p>\n

Success in life and work is built sequentially \u2013 ONE habit at a time. If you can master one habit, you can master any<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

As a coach, I work with many clients who regularly allow their bad behaviours to get the better of them, and one of the most common problems I see is when they try to change everything at once.<\/p>\n

They want to discipline themselves to go to bed before midnight, leave their phone outside their room, wake up early, write a blog post, meditate, get things done and everything in-between.<\/p>\n

But this doesn\u2019t work because trying to fix everything at once is like building Rome in a day. You overwhelm yourself, you don\u2019t notice marginal gains and you lose interest on the cusp of victory.<\/p>\n

So, instead, just concentrate on changing ONE habit.<\/p>\n

And to make it easier on yourself, focus on one you already know how to do, but perhaps have been either neglecting or doing inconsistently.<\/p>\n

These include washing up immediately after eating, making your bed, going for a walk, flossing, etc.<\/p>\n

Choose ONE habit and become consistent<\/strong> in doing it.<\/p>\n

Step 2: Commit Only to Starting<\/strong><\/p>\n

Starting a habit we\u2019ve been procrastinating on is always difficult. And sometimes, the mere thought of putting on our running shoes, preparing a salad or writing a thousand words is enough to discourage us from starting \u2013 even when they\u2019re easy.<\/p>\n

Build self-discipline is about getting good at starting. And the secret to starting is making behaviours so easy you can\u2019t say no. [1]<\/p>\n

Think of a habit as a sequence of tiny behaviours. Let\u2019s use going to the gym as an example. If you\u2019re like most people, when you think of going to the gym, what you\u2019re really<\/em> thinking isn\u2019t exercise, you\u2019re thinking about how you have to pack your gym bag, go to the gym, change into your exercise clothes, warm up, exercise, warm down, shower, change back into your street clothes and go home.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re also thinking about how long the habit is going to take.<\/p>\n

But by focusing on the first action \u2013 say, packing your gym bag \u2013 and being fully present as you do it, you avoid talking yourself out of doing it.<\/p>\n

So, with your one habit, focus on the first action you need to take and commit to it.<\/p>\n

Be mindful while you\u2019re doing it. This prevents you of thinking about what you need to do next and not starting at all.<\/p>\n

Fill up the sink with warm, soapy water and bring your attention to how it feels on your skin. Then wash one cup. And then another, and another, and so on.<\/p>\n

Slip your feet into your running shoes and tie the laces. Loop, swoop and pull. Become mindful of how snug your feet feel in your running shoes.<\/p>\n

Type one sentence and listen to the sounds of your fingers clicking the keys. Your book begins to come to life, one sentence at a time.<\/p>\n

Take care of the first action and the remaining actions will look after themselves.<\/p>\n

Step 3. Build Consistency by Counting <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI have no problem with starting<\/em> habits, but committing to them, that\u2019s my problem\u201d. I hear this a lot.<\/p>\n

Consistency is<\/em> hard \u2013 but only when your expectation is unrealistic to begin with. That\u2019s why we make behaviours simple; it\u2019s impossible to not<\/em> do them.<\/p>\n

The secret of being consistent is to fall in love with the boredom of the process and not concerning ourselves with the \u201call-or-nothing\u201d mentality.<\/p>\n

Being consistent isn\u2019t about never missing a day; it\u2019s about missing a day, learning why you missed it and doing everything you can to ensure it doesn\u2019t happen again.<\/p>\n

As UCLA Bruins Coach John Wooden said, \u201cProcess is primary\u201d.<\/p>\n

If you want to be consistent, start tracking your progress. Try and make a game out of it. How many days can you do your habits in a row? Have a target and meet it \u2013 then move the goal posts apart.<\/p>\n

Step 4: Rinse, Wash, Repeat<\/strong><\/p>\n

There comes a point when you no longer have to track your progress. The behaviour becomes a habit. You no longer need to rationalise or decide to do it. There\u2019s no rationalisation and no resistance. You simply do it.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean you stop bringing your full attention to what you\u2019re doing or stop trying; it simply means it\u2019s become easier<\/em> to do. You become self-disciplined.<\/p>\n

The next step is to choose a new habit and repeat the process.<\/p>\n

Remember: success in life and work is built sequentially, one habit at a time.<\/p>\n

Sam Thomas Davies<\/em><\/strong> scouts the leading edge of the human sciences for what’s new, surprising, and important. He writes about research-based ways to improve habits, add new skills and sustain excellence. To learn how to seize the potential of your life, <\/em>read his free eBook<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

But self-discipline isn\u2019t something we should be afraid of and contrary to popular belief, it isn\u2019t that difficult to build…Once you know how. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12163,"featured_media":31806,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[205,30,6],"tags":[1745,4199,1562,66,4639,4652,4629],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Build Self-Discipline in 4 Easy Steps<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"But self-discipline isn\u2019t something we should be afraid of and contrary to popular belief, it isn\u2019t that difficult to build\u2026Once you know how.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/build-self-discipline-4-easy-steps\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Build Self-Discipline in 4 Easy Steps\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"But self-discipline isn\u2019t something we should be afraid of and contrary to popular belief, it isn\u2019t that difficult to build\u2026Once you know how.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/build-self-discipline-4-easy-steps\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pickthebrain\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-04-02T07:32:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-04-05T17:58:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Screen-Shot-2015-04-01-at-5.00.34-PM.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"553\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"366\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@pickthebrain\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@pickthebrain\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Erin Falconer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/build-self-discipline-4-easy-steps\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Screen-Shot-2015-04-01-at-5.00.34-PM.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Screen-Shot-2015-04-01-at-5.00.34-PM.png\",\"width\":553,\"height\":366,\"caption\":\"How To Build Self-Discipline In 4 Easy Steps\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/build-self-discipline-4-easy-steps\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/build-self-discipline-4-easy-steps\/\",\"name\":\"How to Build Self-Discipline in 4 Easy Steps\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/build-self-discipline-4-easy-steps\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-04-02T07:32:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-04-05T17:58:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2da8ae162c097bdb749ab098472b4cc5\"},\"description\":\"But self-discipline isn\u2019t something we should be afraid of and contrary to popular belief, it isn\u2019t that difficult to build\u2026Once you know how.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/build-self-discipline-4-easy-steps\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/build-self-discipline-4-easy-steps\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/build-self-discipline-4-easy-steps\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Build Self-Discipline in 4 Easy Steps\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2da8ae162c097bdb749ab098472b4cc5\",\"name\":\"Erin Falconer\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1173c63284b173ff225e5f87a1af5028?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1173c63284b173ff225e5f87a1af5028?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Erin Falconer\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/author\/erin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Build Self-Discipline in 4 Easy Steps","description":"But self-discipline isn\u2019t something we should be afraid of and contrary to popular belief, it isn\u2019t that difficult to build\u2026Once you know how.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/build-self-discipline-4-easy-steps\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Build Self-Discipline in 4 Easy Steps","og_description":"But self-discipline isn\u2019t something we should be afraid of and contrary to popular belief, it isn\u2019t that difficult to build\u2026Once you know how.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/build-self-discipline-4-easy-steps\/","og_site_name":"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement","article_publisher":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pickthebrain","article_published_time":"2015-04-02T07:32:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-04-05T17:58:19+00:00","og_image":[{"width":553,"height":366,"url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Screen-Shot-2015-04-01-at-5.00.34-PM.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary","twitter_creator":"@pickthebrain","twitter_site":"@pickthebrain","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Erin Falconer","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/","name":"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/build-self-discipline-4-easy-steps\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Screen-Shot-2015-04-01-at-5.00.34-PM.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Screen-Shot-2015-04-01-at-5.00.34-PM.png","width":553,"height":366,"caption":"How To Build Self-Discipline In 4 Easy Steps"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/build-self-discipline-4-easy-steps\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/build-self-discipline-4-easy-steps\/","name":"How to Build Self-Discipline in 4 Easy Steps","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/build-self-discipline-4-easy-steps\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2015-04-02T07:32:05+00:00","dateModified":"2015-04-05T17:58:19+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2da8ae162c097bdb749ab098472b4cc5"},"description":"But self-discipline isn\u2019t something we should be afraid of and contrary to popular belief, it isn\u2019t that difficult to build\u2026Once you know how.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/build-self-discipline-4-easy-steps\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/build-self-discipline-4-easy-steps\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/build-self-discipline-4-easy-steps\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Build Self-Discipline in 4 Easy Steps"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2da8ae162c097bdb749ab098472b4cc5","name":"Erin Falconer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1173c63284b173ff225e5f87a1af5028?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1173c63284b173ff225e5f87a1af5028?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Erin Falconer"},"url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/author\/erin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31693"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31693\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}