Self-Discipline Is Key To Achieving Goals Throughout Life

Recently, one of my high school students asked me how I discipline myself to do the things I don’t want or like to do. The maturity of that question struck me. He wasn’t asking me how he could avoid doing difficult or mundane things but how he could conquer and complete them. I was thankful for the question because it caused me to deliberate and reflect on my habits of self-discipline, both in the trivial and the more significant things. 

In my initial answer, I told him to focus on the goal and remember that the only way to reach it is through small steps. I used the example of my marathon training. I printed out the weekly schedule each time I began training for a race. Initially, it always looked daunting, but I could see “race day” in the last block and knew my goal. On the days when I didn’t feel like getting out of bed before the sun was up and running through the sleet and snow, I kept my focus on the goal. 

I also encouraged him to have a visual or tangible indicator of his progress. There was something so rewarding and motivating about being able to cross out the week I had just completed after my long runs on Saturday mornings. A training schedule that looked impossible at first slowly became a record and silent encourager of how much I’d achieved and how much closer to the goal I was. I suppose it’s a bit like giving yourself a gold star.

While this may seem too simple, I encourage anyone to consider other goals in life that are achievable by forming and sticking with good habits. For example, regular study habits are necessary if your goal is to get good grades in school. The best students don’t just study the night before a test; they study a little daily throughout the weeks leading up to the exam, even if they don’t feel like studying.

Consider the young person who aims to be financially successful early in life. That will likely require hard work, which he may or may not enjoy, and sometimes, he will deny himself to save money rather than indulge in his desires. The path to achieving financial success may be long and strewn with temptations to slack off work or spend frivolously. However, keeping the goal in mind (and maybe a picture of the home or vehicle that is part of the goal) and regularly watching a savings account or investments increase will provide the motivation to practice self-discipline.

This formula also works with marriage, whose ultimate goal is “till death do us part.” Considering all the stress of living together, raising children, and managing careers, it’s a lofty goal. I would argue that it is one of the most worthy goals and requires the most extraordinary self-discipline. Even to the most starry-eyed young lovers, it can seem daunting, which is all the more reason to help young people develop self-discipline as they mature. 

Husbands and wives must practice self-discipline to be generous with compliments and sparing with criticism. Each person is responsible daily for giving 100% to ensure the relationship's success, regardless of their spouse’s contribution. Of course, there is no “training schedule” to show progress toward the goal, but there are special milestones to note and memories of obstacles overcome together to reflect on. Being surrounded by generations of people who are in the world simply because two people loved each other enough to practice self-discipline for decades is the best “prize” in the end. 

You’ll be relieved to know the answer I provided to my student’s question did not delve into all these examples nor ramble on this long. I gave him the short answer and provided a practical tool he could use to conquer his current goal. Hopefully, it will help develop and strengthen his self-discipline now so he can achieve bigger and better things in the future.