Discipline and success go hand in hand. You simply cannot excel in life without incorporating discipline in your life.
In today’s society, some underestimate the power that self discipline carries. They commit to very little and rarely exceed beyond what is expected of them.
What springs to mind when you think of discipline?
Discipline to me means reading the bible when you would much rather watch a programme on television, it means leaving a family gathering early so you can go home and work on your business/book/project/job application (delete as appropriate!)
According to Oxford Dictionaries, it is defined as;
“The practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behaviour”
“Activity that provides mental or physical training”
Now for my six reasons;
1. Discipline helps you to remain focused in your everyday life. You are more likely to set goals and work towards these on a daily basis. Distractions will come but they will not throw you off course as your eye is on the ball.
2. Discipline helps you to gain respect by others. Think about your place of work. I am sure you could quickly list the officers who displayed behaviours of self discipline such as excellent time keeping and meeting deadlines.
3. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle demands discipline. Discipline will get you up and out for a morning jog regardless of how cosy your bed is. Discipline will help you curb your eating habits.
4. Self control. Those with self discipline take ownership of their behaviour and think before they speak. They avoid becoming involved in petty disputes.
5. Reduced stress. Discipline means you do not leave tasks until the very last minute but you tackle them bit by bit aiming for a specific deadline.
6. You will have more free time as your day is structured. Disciplined people generally do not procrastinate.
Have I missed anything?
In which areas of your life are you self disciplined?
Which areas would you like to improve upon?
organisedlady 
When I look back, I think all my success in my life was due to having discipline and the failures were because of a lack of it. Thanks for sharing this post with us.
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Thank you for being so honest William.
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Phoenicia I could give a hoot about how my discipline would affect other’s opinions: caveat – I’m pretty much retired so who is to impress? Saying that, I am most disciplined in my morning routine: prayer, meditation, gratitude and exercise. Yup; makes me a happier person and easier to get along with. Now guess – did I or did I not stick to my discipline today? hahaha Loved this post.
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Pat – I am guessing yes!
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Compared to where I was 3 yrs ago I have a lot more discipline. I’ve been able to focus and successfully do things that I’ve talked about doing for years.
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Jason – there is always room for improvement.
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Jason – sounds like you are on a roll!
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My son needs to learn discipline. He still doesn’t quite get things have to be done even when we don’t want to do them. A magic fairy won’t come clean and do his chores for him.
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Be persistent with your son. I suppose when chores are done for you, you do not give much thought about the effort put in.
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Great Post Phoenica.
I Love numbers 3, 4 and 5. I try to read and especially exercise in the morning all between 5:30 and 7:30am. Oh and I avoid petty disputes. I can’t stand drama.
Just to let you know that the next Africa at Spitalfields will be on Bank Holiday Monday Augusy 31st from 10am – 5pm.
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Another one who wakes just after 5am! Kudos to us! Sometimes I am shattered come 6pm and my children want to talk and talk!
Thanks for the update on Africa at Spitalfields Market. I appreciate it.
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Hi Phoenicia; you could have listed many more reasons why we should be more self disciplined. i like the one about people who do this have more free time because they do tasks right away and don’t procrastinate. I am a generalist when it comes to discipline in my work. I work every day and do lots of little jobs that add up to the big one of running a business; but I don’t have an organized plan or schedule. I really should work on that. 🙂 in my personal life most notably my health i am very disciplined. i take the vitamins supplements mandated by my gastric surgery. I get at least 30 minutes of exercise every day. I eat at least 90 grams of protein again part of post surgery regiment. I drink plenty of water, avoid caffein, get quality sleep, and pray or meditate often. One of the things i do that helps with this is I listen to an audio book while riding my stationary bike or walking on my treadmill. thanks so much for the post. often its not what is said but the way it is said; and I can see this post providing aha moments for a lot of people. take care, max
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Thank your for your words of encouragement. I am sure I could have listed more reasons but wanted to touch on those and ask readers for their input.
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Love numbers 3 and 5…especially as I try read, write and exercise in the morning–all between 5:30 and 7:30! Love those days when I pull it all off.
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Rose Mary – I wake just after 5am during the weekday!
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Discipline is, to some degree, a learned trait. The more you do it the easier it gets…whatever it is.
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I could not agree more. We should be consistent enough until discipline becomes our way of life.
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I think we can all use a little more discipline in our lives. Your last point really resonates with me – taking the discipline to plan ahead instead of procrastinating! Investing in a few minutes of focused proactivity like scheduling tasks and/or making a list of people to call, etc. can pay off with reduced stress and more time for other, more enjoyable tasks!
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Glad you found my blog helpful Krystna. It really does pay to be disciplined and as you said taking time out to plan may use up just 10 minutes of your time!
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Just today & yesterday I had to ignore the whining in my head to get my toes on the line for my yoga practice. I went a whole week without practicing. I convinced myself that no matter what, I’d be on the mat starting again on Monday. I resisted like a bowline, but I completed it! Accomplishing what you know is good for you has huge rewards and builds your confidence to persevere through resistance. I explored reasons to get started in an earlier post entitled 10 Reasons to Begin Like Microsoft. You can see what I suggest here: http://www.thesmilingcocoon.com/?m=201502
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Good on you Joan for pushing through even though your body did not feel like it.
Yes, you do receive a great level of satisfaction.
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Well said Phoenicia! I first learned the importance of discipline when I went into sales. Like most beginners in the field I had to start out making cold calls and also like most I really hated it. But I knew it was part of learning and paying my dues so when I had a quota of 10 cold calls a day to make, I not only gave it my all to do that, I completed an extra 3 to 5 calls. I’ve always done that – pushed myself to do a little more and be better than I was yesterday. Some will say that’s ambition and the surely is a part of it, but it’s also disciplining myself to do the work. Great post!
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Thanks Marquita. Two decades ago I worked in sales and cannot say I enjoyed it. Obviously I did not know then what I know now!
Going over and above makes you stand out amongst the crowd and prepares you for greater things.
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Self-discipline varies for me according to the context it must be applied in quite a lot and it stems from how I tend to be more extrinsically motivated than intrinsically motivated. Getting my own writing done take low priority because I am the only person involved with the deadline. Yet, my discipline is laser-like if others are involve like editing clients or my former students. I think too smartphones and technology in general constantly complete with our ability to effectively discipline ourselves.
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Great points – Jeri. I am sure this will give my readers food for thought.
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I think of myself as being extremely disciplined. I think the area in my life where I am most disciplined is with my diet. I’m probably less disciplined with housework. I think this is a very important lesson for young adults. Any adult who achieves any level of success in their lives has some level of discipline. So unless you have rich parents who can buy your way, you need discipline to move ahead.
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I could not have said it better myself Erica. Failure to live a disciplined life will stump one’s growth.
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I would just add that I think discipline is the way your control your life. It helps you both to stay focused on what matters most to you and keeps you from getting lost in distractions.
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Ken – thanks for your addition.
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Love this post. I’m not always the most organised person and it really does come down to discipline. When I get that part under control it definitely reduces my stress.
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Thank you A.K. Andrew. I do not cope very well with chaos either.
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I think I’m pretty disciplined but I do have a tendency to procrastinate doing tasks I don’t enjoy. I never do it if it affects someone else though. Using a virtual assistant to do tasks that don’t require my attention helps a lot.
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Beth – it is tempting to put off the tasks we least enjoy. I tend to do the less appealing tasks first then move on to things I actually enjoy!
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I agree discipline has great benefits! When life gets stressful, discipline helps with staying on target with what needs to be done. It is also comforting to know nothing will fall between the cracks when life goes array.
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Sabrina – well said!
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Simply put; all human beings need discipline. If not, would we even get up in the morning or do anything we don’t passionately want to do? Like paying bills:-)
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Catrina – so you do not like paying bills then?!!
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One of the things I was raised with was “It’s Your Duty” which is the same thing really. If I wanted to go out on a Saturday (housecleaning day) my dad would say – It’s your duty to help your mother. I got to hate that statement, felt it deprived me of a lot of fun, but now I’m glad that this was instilled in me because discipline does keep you focused and make like run smoother.
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As a teenager I was neat and my mother also expected us to do housework (and rightly so!) It prepared me well for adulthood.
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Interesting questions you raise about what self-discipline is. To me it is being able to stay focused and work to complete a project or lifestyle.
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Donna – glad you like my points.
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I think discipline is required to get most things done. But if you feel like it’s punishment, then it will seem harder. For me, it works best when I get the things I least like to do out of the way first…so that I can enjoy the tasks I really relish.
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Jacquie – applying discipline to our lives should not feel like a chore but a way of life.
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