The Magic of Self-Discipline

The best definition of self-discipline that I have come across is the one given by writer Elbert Hubbard: “Self–discipline is the ability to do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not.”

Discipline is the intelligent way of living and the most critical ingredient of success. It is the foundation upon which all success is built. It has within it the potential for creating future miracles. It is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.

For instance, you read somewhere, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” You want to set a discipline to eat an apple a day. You do that for several days but forget to do so on the fifth day. You would not say to yourself, “Tomorrow, I will eat two apples.” Instead, you would create a system that helps assure you will eat an apple each day. If forgetting is the problem, then you will put it on your calendar, so you are sure to remember. You should eat an apple a day whether you feel like it or not. That commitment and consistent action — the self-discipline —develops will power and confidence in yourself.

One successful discipline leads to another; you start setting other disciplines. That’s when it turns your life around — the magic of discipline.

Self-discipline is the master key to happiness, health, wealth, high self-esteem and high accomplishment. It is the foundation upon which all success is built. It will make you feel good about yourself. Lack of self-discipline is the major cause of failure and unhappiness in life. Life is a series of problems. We require self-discipline to solve life’s problems. Self-discipline requires delayed gratification, the ability to put off fun and pleasure activities in the short term in order to enjoy greater rewards in the long term.

Jim Rohn, motivational speaker and author said, “We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.”

The pain of discipline or the pain of regret: it is our choice. If we don’t have discipline around our health, like regular exercise and proper diet, we will end up with health issues like diabetes, blood pleasure, cholesterol, obesity – all of which we will regret later in life. If we don’t have financial discipline like saving, investing and insuring our investments, we will end up financially broke and filled with regret later in life. Choosing to avoid pain in the present will end up in regret later in life. Discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.

Why do you need to undergo the pain of self-discipline to succeed?