Self-discipline is the most significant accomplishment in professional and personal growth that you can achieve. It will carry you to success in your career and happiness in your life.
The rewards are significant. But they depend upon you committing yourself to achieve or enhance self-discipline and practicing your new or improved skill every day.
Standing in the way of achieving self-discipline are a lack of motivation, procrastination, and everyday distractions. You can get around these behavioral hindrances with dedication, effort, and training.
“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.”
Jim Rohn, entrepreneur, author, motivational speaker
Motivation
The lack of motivation has many causes. Fear of the new. When we are unfamiliar with something it is easier to back away than to move ahead. Lack of clarity can rob motivation, setting the wrong goal, or a challenge that is too immense or too small.
Get motivated by dividing tasks into manageable parts and give yourself credit when you finish something. Be nice to yourself, too. Consider sharing your work’s progress with someone you trust to help you stay motivated by receiving their support.
Sustain motivation by pushing your comfort zone and boosting your confidence. Be with people who can support your frame of mind and envision the grand outcome of the goal that you have set.
Procrastination
Putting things off is knowing full well that you are avoiding something that needs to be accomplished. Not knowing what to do fosters procrastination. It is easier to procrastinate than tackling a new issue or problem. Or it may be that the task at hand generates a negative mood toward a part of or the entire project.
Distraction
Your attention is diverted by something that is unrelated or distant from what you should be doing. A distraction can be something simple such as a noise, when your mind wanders, the cell phone with all its bells and whistles, and anything that steals your focus from the work that needs your attention.
Practicing self-discipline
“We don’t have to be smarter than the rest; we have to be more disciplined than the rest.”
Warren Buffett, investor
Practicing self-discipline is key. The better you get at it the more success you can have. But look out for the lingering pitfalls.
Human nature likes to take the path of least resistance. So, we gravitate into doing the small things unrelated to the more difficult tasks and now a large dose of self-discipline is needed.
Also, the issue holding you back may be that you are unfamiliar with the difficult or more involved tasks and that is inhibiting because you do not know how to start or what to do. So you watch the news or a sitcom rerun hoping that somehow inspiration will magically reveal itself.
This is a better approach: Set manageable deadlines and a schedule. Set a time for you to start something and how long you will be involved with it. Increase your focus and set smaller goals. Promise to reward yourself when the task is finished.
Be sure you identify the obstacles that may get in the way of your project and devise strategies to overcome them.
Self-discipline reduces last minute issues.
As the deadline for the difficult task nears, anxiety looms making the difficult task even more perplexing. In coping with such situations, we either pull it together or give up. But the danger is addressing a difficult task with the clock ticking may impact the quality of the finished product that will negatively affect the job performance rating. Self-discipline can prevent that.
Deadlines, however, serve as an important tool that keeps you focused on the work ahead and they propel self-discipline. Deadlines create energy for the pursuit of the goal. Embrace them.
Divide and conquer
Build a boundary. Tell yourself that you do not have to work on the difficult task. But – and here’s the catch, as author Raymond Chandler suggested – when you stop you cannot do anything else.
It can be beneficial to experience some level of pressure to prove it is not the monster you might think it is. You can get accustomed to anything over time.
Makea difficult task less stressful by breaking it into small sections to be tackled one at a time. Set a time limit. Tell yourself to work for 20 or 30 minutes and then stop for a break. This technique gives your subconscious time to mull over your situation. You may find that when you return to the task you have gained new insights.
It is best to develop a spreadsheet to hold yourself accountable and checking off pieces of the project will help you stay focused. Share the progress of your project with friends and they can help hold you accountable to self-discipline.
You must make self-discipline a habit. It takes practice to develop over time and to dismiss the habits that hinder you.
You must analyze yourself. Do you know where you struggle? What are your strengths? Only you can make self-discipline a reality.
Do not be afraid of failing
As you embark on the sea of self-discipline, failure is loitering over the horizon. And that is fine. Mistakes are an effective teacher. Remember in high school when the teacher returned your test showing your wrong choice and the right answer. The right answer then found a place in your memory.
When you fail at something, analyze the reason and correct it. Your motivation for success will be enhanced, too.
Do not worry. You do not need to be perfect. Nobody is.
“Success isn’t measured by money or power or social rank. Success is measured by your discipline and inner peace.”
Mike Ditka, football player, coach, television commentator
Get support to help you make self-discipline a part of your being. Entering new territory is much easier with the guidance of an experienced coach showing you the way to the future you.
Free consultation to empower yourself
My coaching will help you achieve your success in a shorter amount of time with fewer headaches. Begin your road to success by scheduling a complimentary consultation with real estate coach Justin M. Baker. I can assess what you are doing right and wrong and ways to achieve and enhance self-discipline. Leave the normal you behind and become the Super You. Call, email, other contact information. Get started on your future right now.
About real estate coach Justin M. Baker
Justin M. Baker has 21 years of expertise in the real estate industry with much of it coaching and managing real estate agents, teams and brokerages. Most of his emphases focuses on helping teams and brokerages to eliminate unprofitable concepts and increase profitability. Working with teams and brokerages his proven tactics have enabled companies to drive their revenue by up to 50 percent and more in less than one year. His concepts enable brokers to work smarter and earn more while providing more personal freedom for life outside of the job.
His ideas will enable you to work more efficiently and improve earnings while allowing you to have the freedom to enjoy life away from the job.