Welcome to this week’s edition of Premium Dew. It’s on developing self discipline. Enjoy it.
I’m a keen follower of football, both on the
club and country level and I never cease to wonder how footballers manage to
play week in, week out, under rain, under sunshine without caving in.
Sometimes, I’ve realized that these footballers may not feel like playing but
they still play because they’re committed to their contracts and must satisfy
their employers and fans. Each time I think about it, I realize it’s all about
self discipline. Without self discipline, success becomes a mirage.
Self discipline is
not a punishment; it’s controlling and directing your emotions, intellect and
body in the path of your dreams and goals. Self discipline is a ruthless
pursuit of your desires, no matter what the body says or feels. Have you ever
wondered how athletes train, week in, week out in pursuit of Olympic gold
medals? Sometimes, these athletes may not feel like it but they must train to
attain their goals. Self discipline is so important and until we develop it, we
cannot achieve success.
If you’re at a point in your life where your
emotions dictate what you do or your body dictates what you do, I can safely
say you’re not ready for success, yet.
We’re all human and are prone to the whims
and caprices of the flesh but we must learn to say NO to it.
What is Self Discipline?
Mike Tyson, former World Heavy Weight Boxing
Champion, went into memory lane and talked about Cus D’Amato, his stern
paranoid-driven trainer-manager, who he said programmed him into a robotic,
irresistible force.
According to Mike, “Cus believed nothing
could faze your emotions … you’re to be cool at all times. That is what his
definition of a true professional was. He said discipline was doing something
you hate to do, but doing it like you love it.”
From this, we can safely say self discipline
is doing what you hate to do as if you love it.
Wikipedia
says “self-discipline can be defined as the ability to motivate oneself in
spite of a negative emotional state. Qualities associated with self-discipline
include willpower, hard work, and persistence.”
Self discipline can also be defined as the
deferment of instant gratification in favour of the attainment of future higher
and more meaningful goals.
Alternatively, self discipline can be called
self-control, self-restraint or self mastery. I came up with this quote after
realizing how crucial self discipline is to the attainment of our goals:
“Self mastery is success mastery. If you
cannot master your self, you cannot master anything in life” -Iyabo Oyawale
So, how do you build or teach yourself self
discipline? You can do so by voluntarily and persistently training your mind
and other parts of your body in the direction of your dreams and goals. To
achieve this, I beg to call you a driver that will drive your body, intellect
and emotions in the path of your goals. The following self discipline exercises
can help:
Self Discipline Exercises
* When you get back from work tired and feel like
sitting in front of the television, just force yourself to get up and go shower
first. You’ll be amazed at what this will help you achieve in terms of
exercising your will power and inner strength.
* After food,when you feel like packing the
dishes for washing later on, force yourself to get up and do the dishes right
there and then. It will really help in building your will power.
* Even when you don’t feel like doing some
cleaning around the house,get up and start doing it,this will do wonders to
your self esteem and help you build self discipline.
* If you used to wake up 6am every day, try
waking up 2 hours earlier to read and meditate before starting your day. You’ll
be amazed at what this will do your will power and self esteem. You’ll find
your body telling you to sleep a little more but resist it and get up. It’s a
mind over matter situation.
What I’m saying in essence is, start doing
those things your body, mind and emotions are telling you to do later. Instead
of doing them later, do them now. Make NOW your watchword!
It will take little exercises and steps like
this but, if you commit willingly to them, you can become self disciplined and
ready for success. Remember, it won’t be palatable initially but keep at it.
You’ll get better with time.
Benefits of Self Discipline
*It’s the ultimate path to success and
freedom
*It helps to overcome negative habits
*It helps to start and finish projects
* It helps to follow through your decisions
* Helps to overcome laziness and
procrastination
Self Discipline Pdfs
For further learning, please download the
free self discipline ebooks below:
*
The Miracle of Self Discipline by Brian Tracy
*
Leadership Qualities: Self Discipline by Dr Kenneth Boa
* Will Power and Self Discipline by Remez
Sasson
Conclusion
All I can say at the end of this article is
that because self mastery is crucial to the attainment of your goals, you
should learn to cultivate it. Look, it’s not going to be easy but you have to
commit to it just like I have committed to writing this weekly motivational
talk despite a huge workload. Sometimes, I don’t feel like writing but I’ve
committed to it and writing I must. If you also commit to self discipline,
you’ll definitely develop it.
And with that, I’ve come to the end of
another exciting edition of Monday Morning Dew. Keep a date with me next week
for anther empowering edition. Don’t forget to share this post with your
friends through the social sharing buttons at the end of the post.
I realise that we all need some form of push
when it comes to taking action, so, I’ve decided to start what I call the Action
Takers Club. If you want to be more productive by taking action on
your dreams, please subscribe below:
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment