Today, we are covering the heart-centered leadership key of self-discipline. This key is so incredibly important for every leader. Self-discipline is the thing that separates the amateurs from the professionals. So often, we think that people find success because they find the right connections or they have a specific talent, but the truth is that success comes from self-discipline: taking those consistent actions, day after day, especially when we don’t feel like it. This is the thing that separates the successful from the unsuccessful.
Today, I want to talk to you about three ways you can improve your self-discipline to accomplish or achieve anything you desire in life. I have used self-discipline to be able to run a marathon, compete in a triathlon, and even write a book.
Self-discipline isn’t always easy, but it is always worth it.
The first thing you can do to improve your self-discipline is to have a goal. If you don’t know what direction you’re going in, you will have a hard time staying disciplined enough to follow through. If there is something you want in life, I want you to write it down. Every time you write a goal down, you are actually 40% more likely to accomplish that goal.
The second thing you can do to improve your self-discipline is to have a plan. We get decision fatigue daily. You’re faced with hundreds of decisions from the moment you wake up… This can be what socks you are going to wear, what to eat for breakfast, decisions for your kids, and it continues at work until you are back in bed. If you want to accomplish something big, we want to make it easy. Having a plan in place allows you to know what your job is each day.
The third way to improve your self-discipline is to get accountability. This could be a coach, an accountability partner, or a mentor. Choose someone who knows you personally, whom you can check in with regularly, and who can help motivate and encourage you. Anytime we try to do something new, different, or hard, there are challenges. Some days, we might have limited beliefs about what we can accomplish, which is where your accountability coach comes in. This person is able to help you uplevel your thinking!
Once these things are in place, give yourself some deadlines to incorporate into your plan. These deadlines let you know you are on track for hitting your goals, and they allow your accountability partner to know you’re on track, as well. Whenever we set deadlines (no matter how far out into the future they are), we tend to wait until the end of the deadline to get things accomplished. That’s okay! Keep setting deadlines. You will be so grateful when you get to the other side of your plan.
If you take consistent action each day, you will be surprised by what you can accomplish.
Learn more about today’s heart-centered leadership key by checking out my new YouTube video.
