Use the Power of Self-Discipline to Change Your Life

The older I get, the more I realize that the only way to have a good life is to develop your self-discipline.  Realize that without self-discipline, your relationships will be terrible.  Moreover, your home will be in disarray, and your career will be average at best.  Self-discipline is a necessary skill if you want to create a great life.

I know the power of self-discipline because I’ve worked hard during my life to become a disciplined person.  And I’ll tell you that if you develop your self-discipline, you’ll have a higher quality of life. 

For instance, I’m very disciplined in the way that I keep my house.  I expect all beds to be made every day.  Dirty dishes are to be washed immediately, and laundry is done daily.  And there isn’t junk lying around in my house. 

Now, I’ve heard undisciplined people remark, “Well, Meerabelle just likes to clean.”  That’s ridiculous.  No one likes to clean.  What I like is a clean and pleasant house, and I have the self-discipline to make that happen. 

I also don’t smoke, drink alcohol or eat meat.  And I exercise every day.  All of that takes self-discipline.  But I want to have a healthy body, and I’m willing to adopt the right habits to have better health. 

My point is this: If you really want to have an exceptional life, then you have to develop your self-discipline. 

Read below about the many ways that you can use the power of self-discipline to transform your life.  This is by no means an exhaustive list.  But it shows how you can dramatically change your life simply by becoming a more disciplined individual.

Use Self-Discipline to Have Great Relationships

I know many people who have what I refer to as “verbal diarrhea.”  They have no self-control.  They simply spew out whatever flies into their heads.  And typically, what they spew out is unpleasant!

Now, these individuals who suffer from verbal diarrhea simply can’t have great relationships with others.  Why? Well, because no one is going to like you if you’re the kind of person who runs around telling people off. 

So, if you want to have great relationships with other people, you have to develop your self-discipline.  You have to have the self-control to not say every negative thing that pops into your brain.

And that doesn’t mean that you necessarily have to change your opinions of other people.  For instance, I have some fairly critical views of people who I think are rude, lazy, irresponsible or unkind.  But I have the self-discipline not to express my opinions out loud. 

I don’t share my opinions primarily because I’m not in the business of fixing other people.  I’m in the business of fixing myself.  So, if other people want to be rude, lazy, irresponsible or unkind, that’s their choice.  I may avoid them because they’re unpleasant.  But it’s not my job to correct them.  They can correct themselves, if they feel so inclined.

My goal in life is simply to be at peace with other people.  And that means that I choose to be kind at all times.  So, if I have an unkind thought, I don’t share it.  Why should I?  That doesn’t accomplish my goal of getting along with other folks and being a kind person. 

So, be disciplined in how you interact with others.  Don’t spew negativity and meanness.  Let me assure you that you aren’t making the world a better place.  Instead, be self-disciplined in how you interact with others by treating all people with the utmost kindness and decency at all times.

Self-Discipline Is Your Key to Good Health

Good health comes down to three things: Diet, Exercise and Genetics.  While we can’t control our genetics, we can use the power of self-discipline to make good choices regarding our diet and our exercise regime.

The hard truth is that to be healthy, you have to have a great deal of self-control.  You can’t smoke, abuse alcohol or use drugs and be healthy.  You also can’t eat foods high in sodium and sugar and be healthy.  If you have those bad habits, you may enjoy life for a period of time.  But ultimately, those habits will catch up with you in the forms of cancer, addiction and obesity. 

Similarly, you can’t be healthy if you don’t exercise.  We weren’t meant to be couch potatoes.  Our bodies need to move!  And if you don’t make moving your body a daily habit, you’ll become stiff and overweight.

The challenge is that smoking, abusing alcohol, eating bad foods and sitting on the couch are comfortable activities.  But if you want to have good health, forget about being comfortable.  Good health takes hard work.  And that requires you to have self-discipline!

For example, years ago, I gave up eating meat.  On the rare occasion, I may eat fish, but for the most part, I’m a vegetarian.  And I’m significantly healthier as a result.  I’ll concede that being a vegetarian isn’t a comfortable dietary regime.  Vegetarianism can be inconvenient.  Sometimes, it’s challenging to find vegetarian choices at restaurants.  And you have to be a much more creative cook in order to make interesting and tasty dishes without meat.  But I’ve chosen to be disciplined about what I eat in order to have a healthy body.

Similarly, I spend a part of each day working out, either riding my exercise bike, doing exercise videos or yoga.  Would it be more comfortable to instead sit on the couch and eat cookies?  Of course!  But again, I’ve chosen to be disciplined and workout each day so that I can have as healthy a body as possible.

My diet and exercise choices all require self-discipline.  I don’t do whatever feels good.  Rather, I do whatever is good for my health.

So, if you want to change your health, develop your self-discipline.  Commit to positive eating and exercise habits, and see how much healthier you can be!

Your Professional Advancement Depends on Self-Disciplined Behavior

Good careers don’t just happen.  Rather, they are the product of years, if not decades, of hard work to become an expert in your chosen field.  That kind of long-term commitment to a career take self-discipline.

Unfortunately, in this day and age, people do a lot of jumping around in their careers.  They bounce from one employer to another in pursuit of that higher paycheck.  Or they switch professions before giving their current profession a solid try.

There’s a problem with that lack of stick-to-it-iveness.  If you bounce around too much, you never become an expert in anything.  Realize that you can’t achieve a meaningful depth of knowledge if you don’t stay at a job for a solid chunk of time.  And having an in-depth knowledge of your field is the only way to advance.

But sticking with a job takes self-discipline.  After all, some days aren’t going to be great.  Or, you may see your friends making more money at their jobs, and you may feel that you are missing out. 

But to become an expert in your field, you have to have the self-discipline to say to yourself, “I’m not going to quit, just because today was a bad day.  And I’m not going to leave my job or switch careers to chase dollars.  Because I’m more interested in developing a solid understanding of my field.”

The people who I know who are truly successful in their professions have that kind of self-discipline.  They’ve committed themselves to becoming experts in their fields.  And they’ve chosen to work for very few employers over the course of their careers so that they can focus on developing their expertise. 

So, if you want to advance professionally, be self-disciplined in your approach.  Stick to a job and to a career, so that you can become an expert.  After all, it’s only when you become an expert in your field that your job becomes truly rewarding.

Self-Discipline Is Your Key to A Higher Quality of Life

The ironic fact of life is this: You can have a fancy house, designer clothes and a luxury car, and all that will not necessarily provide you with a great quality of life. 

Money can only get you so far when it comes to your quality of life.  Realize that a modest home that is immaculate and well-cared for will provide a pleasing existence for its owners.  Whereas, a million dollar home full of clutter, unmade beds and dirty dishes is a miserable place in which to live.  When it comes to quality of life, self-discipline is everything.

So, if your goal is to improve your quality of life, don’t worry about getting more money or more stuff.  Instead, focus on creating a beautiful life where you are at this very moment.  Whether you simply have a room, an apartment or an entire house, give your energy to making your space as beautiful, organized and clean as it can be.  Make it your sanctuary.

Moreover, realize that our quality of life is a package.  And in that package are the different things that make our daily existence just a little bit nicer.  For example, preparing good quality, tasty meals will make your day a lot better.  Regularly doing your laundry, cleaning your home and organizing your belongings will make your home a much more pleasant place in which to live.  Even something as simple as making your bed every day will transform your bedroom from a place that is depressing to a space that is inviting.

None of that is terribly time consuming.  But it does take self-discipline.  Unfortunately, many people don’t have that kind of self-discipline.  So, they live in messy homes, eat bad food, and have a poor quality of life.  Don’t let that be you!

Consider adopting the approaches above to live a self-disciplined life.  You’ll find that if you become self-disciplined in all that you do, from how you relate to others to how you live each day, your life will change dramatically for the better. (To read about ways to improve your self-discipline, click here.) (If you would like to read about how to develop your focus and self-discipline, click here.)