Mental Toughness – Discipline in Execution
Most people are great at starting some thing. A new diet regime. 
A project at home. Dropping a bad habit. Starting a good habit.
But most people are also terrible at follow-through. The diet is dropped at the first holiday. The project never gets finished when other priorities come up. The bad habit is restarted at the party. The good habit is put aside when it is no longer convenient or easy. So how do we end up feeling? Frustrated. Shamed.
The difference between the goal that is set and the goal that is met is often discipline.
For many people, the idea of “discipline” conjures images of harsh punishment or soldiers standing ramrod straight for hours. But that was not the original intent of the word. A “discipline” is just an area that you study and adhere to. To drive this point home, the root of “discipline” is “disciple” which is a follower or a student.
To increase your level of discipline:
- Be a student and a follower. Be a student by mentally knowing the steps that you need to complete to reach the goal. Write them down like a student takes notes. Study them like a student getting ready for a test. Be a follower by emotionally feeling the importance of the goal. Have faith that the goal is worth it. Believe that you are worth it.
- Have a physical reminder. “WWJD”? The question of “What Would Jesus Do?” was on the rear bumpers of cars and on the wrists of Christians in the past decade. Those four letters were printed on millions of stickers and silicon wristbands and handed to people in churches around the globe. What could you keep on hand to remind you of your goal? Maybe a poster. Maybe a background image on a phone, tablet or laptop. Maybe it is a wristband. Whatever you can do to remind yourself to keep on task is a big boost to self-discipline.
- Get a mentor. One of the biggest decisions that we ever made in our business was deciding that paying money for mentors was the way to experience massive growth. Having someone that had “been there, done that” and was willing to hold us accountable was huge. If you are having some self-discipline issues, finding someone that you can bounce ideas off of and is willing to tell you the truth. This person should be someone of experience and integrity and capable of “tough love”.
Self-discipline is also making sure that we do what we know should be done when we know it should be done. So keep on schedule and watch out for distractions (“I’m looking at you Cell Phone!”).
Need help working on your self-discipline? Let us know below!