This article explores the two essential skills, willpower, and self-discipline, and provides helpful advice and exercises. You will learn what willpower and self-discipline are and how to strengthen them.
To clarify, in case you have doubts, you can cultivate these skills. You can strengthen them through willpower and self-discipline training.
No matter how undeveloped these skills are, you can improve them if you are earnest enough.
These skills play a significant role in life. They lead to success if you have them or to failure or mediocrity if you lack them.
Developing these skills does not require becoming self-denying, ascetic, or frugal.
Willpower and Self Discipline Definitions
Let’s first define willpower and then define self-discipline. A term that is defined is always better understood.
Willpower Definition
What is willpower?
Here are a few definitions of the meaning of Willpower:
- It is the ability to avoid unnecessary and harmful impulses.
- The skill of making a decision and carrying it out with perseverance until its successful accomplishment.
- The inner strength that enables you to refuse to indulge in unnecessary and unhealthy habits.
- It is the inner power that enables you to overcome inner and external resistance and obstacles.
- Willpower is the ability to overcome laziness and procrastination.
- The inner resolution to get out of your comfort zone.
Self Discipline Definition:
What is self discipline?
- The inner strength enables you to persevere with whatever you do.
- It is the strength to withstand physical, emotional, and mental hardships and difficulties.
- The ability to persevere and be tenacious.
- It is the ability to reject immediate satisfaction for some greater gain in the future.
- The ability to give up short-term pleasure in order to reach your goal, no matter how long it takes.
- It is mental strength, sustained confidence, and persistence.
Developing these two essential skills enables you to overcome laziness, procrastination, and impatience and develop self-control and inner strength.
The Roles of Discipline and Willpower
These two skills supply the inner strength you need to make decisions. They also enable you to carry them out. They give you persistence to continue your plans despite difficulties and obstacles.
They provide perseverance, persistence, and the ability to stick to your goals. They also give you the strength to resist the temptation to indulge in habits and actions that can hurt you.
These skills can help you change your life, lose weight, avoid eating junk food, build good habits, and avoid bad habits. They are most useful for everyone, in every area of life, and for every age.
Questions about Willpower and Self Discipline
Do you sometimes ask yourself the following questions?
- How can I improve my willpower?
- How can I become a more disciplined person?
- What do I need to do to develop discipline?
- How can I persevere with whatever I do?
- Why do you give up too easily?
- How can I have the patience and persistence to accomplish long-term goals?
- How to avoid spending too much time on social media accounts or watching TV?
You can get the answers to your questions, together with guidance and practical exercises, if you read our book on willpower and self discipline.
More Questions to Ask Yourself
Answer the following questions:
- Do you sometimes feel that you lack the inner strength to take action, act assertively or persevere?
- Are there habits that you want to change but feel that you lack the necessary inner strength to change?
- How many times have you made a decision to go for a walk but instead stayed home and watched TV due to laziness?
- How many times have you tried unsuccessfully to change your eating habits, stop smoking, or get up earlier in the morning?
- When offered some tasty but not healthy food, can you resist eating it?
- Do you start doing things but quit after a short while?
You can change this behavior by strengthening your self-discipline and willpower. All you need is some training, guidance, and advice. You will feel stronger, more confident, and in charge of yourself and your life.
- Possessing these two important skills improves your self-control. People with self-control are more poised and have better control over their lives and actions.
- Disciplined people possess inner strength, which helps them deal more easily and confidently with problems and obstacles.
- These skills give self-confidence and assertiveness.
- Self-disciplined people have more willpower than others. These people do not allow their choices to be dictated by impulses or by what other people say or do.
A Common Misconception about Willpower and Self Discipline
There is a common misconception regarding these skills.
It is erroneously believed that strengthening them requires deprivation and a lot of mental and physical strain and effort. This is not true. You can build these skills through simple exercises and even enjoy the process.
How to Strengthen Willpower and Improve Self-Discipline
Acting despite laziness, shyness, inconvenience, and the tendency to procrastinate, is an effective technique for willpower and self discipline training.
Carrying out tasks, despite inner resistance and reluctance, makes you stronger.
Muscles get stronger by resisting the weight of barbells. In the same way, these skills get stronger by overcoming your inner resistance to acting.
Simple Willpower and Self discipline Exercises
It is relatively easy to train yourself and strengthen these skills. I want to offer you a few practical exercises. Practice the exercises below whenever you have the time.
The amount of time you spend on these exercises is well-spent. They lead to a mental state of inner strength.
Exercise no. 1
You sit in a bus or train, and then an old man or woman, or a pregnant lady, walks in. Stand up and give up your seat, even if you prefer to stay seated. Act so, not just because it is polite, but because you are doing something you are reluctant to do. This is an exercise in overcoming the resistance of your body, mind, and feelings.
Exercise no. 2
There are dishes in the sink that need washing, and you postpone washing them for later.
Instead of postponing, get up and wash them now. Do not let laziness control you. That might be tough, but this exercise would improve your willpower.
Exercise no. 3
Do you sit in front of your TV when you come home from work? Are you too tired to take a shower first? Refrain from succumbing to the desire to sit in front of your TV instead of getting up and taking a shower immediately.
More Exercises and Training
Exercise no. 4
Do you like your coffee with sugar? If you do, then drink it without sugar for a whole week. Do you drink three cups of coffee each day? If you do, drink only two cups a day for a week.
Exercise no. 5
Like many others, do you like to read unimportant gossip in the newspaper or magazine? Then, for one whole week, abstain from doing so. This might be challenging, but it’s good for your training. I am not telling you to do so indefinitely but for only one week.
Exercise no. 6
If you can go up with the elevator or climb the stairs, choose climbing the stairs. However, you can just climb the stairs if it’s not a high story and you are in good physical condition.
The Importance of Regular Training and Exercising
The above exercises are simple and not difficult to practice. Practicing them would add to your inner strength. This strength will be available to you whenever you need it.
Remember, the purpose of the exercises is to develop inner strength, not to make life difficult for you.
Lifting weights, practicing aerobics, or any other sport strengthens your muscles. Then, you can use your physical strength whenever you need it. It is the same with willpower and self discipline.
By training, strengthening, and building willpower and self discipline, you make them available for your use anytime you need them. You can use them to change your habits, get more control over your life, and have the necessary inner strength for personal and spiritual growth.
If you suffer from a lack of willpower and feel the need to build self-discipline, do not wait. Take the first step today.
Starting small, taking small steps, and gradually moving on make each task and goal easier to accomplish. In this way, you develop confidence and faith in yourself, increasing your sense of inner strength.
Weekly Featured Book:
Affirmations – Words with Power
Please just keep the goal in mind to keep practicing these self-discipline and willpower exercises. Achieving our goals in life, and any specific goal, requires staying motivated to develop these skills.
Quotes from various authors
“Discipline really means our ability to get ourselves to do things when we don’t want to.”
“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.”
“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”
“Self-control is the power within you that holds the reins of anger, intolerance, and impulsiveness.”
You might like reading more self discipline quotes.
Do you wish to learn more exercises and get more training? Do you want to get more guidance and learn to master these skills? If you do, I highly recommend reading the book mentioned below.
