Self Discipline is the real motivator

Everyone remembers being in school and having come across a breed of student they perceived as motivated. Always come to class prepared, knowledgeable, and their grades reflect this idea. A survey was done that showed the number one reason people failed to make positive changes in their life was because of a lack of willpower, (Weir, 2012) a synonym of self-discipline. The question then is: Are some people just born with more motivation than most, or is it superior discipline stemming from the way they live their life on a day-to-day basis? One would argue that this perceived motivation is actually a well-trained discipline that keeps them on track. Once the enthusiasm runs out people have self-discipline to keep them going. In the following text, self-discipline and a few of the technics used to exercise that restraint will be discussed.

Finishing what someone starts and not abandoning the project once it gets frustrating is a great beginning. People often start projects or tasks and find an excuse to justify not finishing them. Instead of using the chance to persevere people give up and weaken their self-discipline. Life will always throw difficulties our way but part of being a strong-willed individual is overcoming these obstacles. There is a way to overcome this power struggle with one’s self. Break the project into smaller parts called “sprints”. Doing this makes it a lot easier not to get bogged down by such a big project and make it into more manageable bite size pieces (Stone, 2017). For example, if someone has to write a paper for sociology class, break it into a few smaller projects. Write out a basic outline, then your body, starting and conclusion paragraph, and finally editing it. Making this project into four parts can give someone a sense of achievement for each section. This helps motivate them and compartmentalize the assignment therefore making it more manageable. Hopefully this tool can aid people in following through.

Making things that could become distracting or unhealthy for someone difficult to acquire quickly is another technique one can use to become more disciplined. Everyone has a little voice inside that checks in and tells us whether they should or should not do something. It is a lot easier to follow that voice if our weaknesses are not easily accessible to us at that moment. If someone is going somewhere it is easy to spend a lot of money only bring a specific amount of cash. Leaving the credit card at home will help you stay disciplined. In my personal life, I make sure to eat something before I go grocery shopping, because it makes it easier to buy healthy food. I know I have a weakness of wanting to snack on unhealthy food when I am at home, so if I am able to pick healthy items it is a lot easier to stay on track. Small methods like this can help people prepare for weak moments and make sure they make the smart choice when needed.

Building our self-discipline with constant conditioning is huge, and probably one of the biggest struggles one will face on the way to a more disciplined life. Temptation often conflicts people and makes them procrastinate. Putting important matters off only weakens someone’s self-discipline but if done right away usually makes life a lot easier, producing a bigger reward for getting the job done. Self-discipline is like a muscle, the more you use it the stronger it will get. It is just like a skill that takes time to master. Going to the gym every day is really difficult at first but eventually it becomes easier. Self-discipline is something that almost no matter what somebody’s job is, they will need to use. When working on projects people must remember to push through adversity and get to their end goal. If someone knows that something is going to distract them from that goal, they need to try to keep those distractions away from them when they want to be productive. Working at building one’s self-discipline on a routine basis will make all of this easier, and lead to road of accomplishments. Motivation alone can help someone get through an assignment intermittently, but eventually it runs out, and then discipline appears out of the background and kicks their hypothetical rear end in first gear, hopefully.

References

Stone, J. (2017). Should You Finish What You Start? Psychology Today. Retrieved November 07, 2017 from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/clear-organized-and-motivated/201706/should-you-finish-what-you-start

Weir, K. (2012). What You Need to Know about Willpower. The Psychological Science of Self-Control. Retrieved November 14, 2017 from http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/willpower.pdf