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Writer's pictureLindsey Vertner

How to Develop Self-Discipline to Help You Reach Your Goals

Updated: Jul 24, 2022


What is Discipline? Why is it Important & What are the Benefits?

Discipline is the act of doing what you know you should do instead of what you want to do. Discipline is the ability to establish habits and routines to make sure you experience fulfillment and achievement in life. There are numerous benefits of discipline, such as personal achievement, improved willpower, and improved mental health. Being self-disciplined increases the probability that you'll achieve more of your goals.


Self-discipline is an essential trait of living a successful life - be it in work, relationships, or something else. Being self-disciplined means being able to have self-control. It means you have the ability to deny your short-term feelings and emotions for a long term gain (that is more often than not, to your benefit).


We develop self-discipline through perseverance and dedication. The first step to developing self-discipline is a willingness to do so, which requires determination. This determination will help you develop other skill sets needed, such as patience.


The Cycle of Discipline

It's important to be aware of the Cycle of Discipline so that you can identify where you're at in any given moment. It looks something like this:


  1. You are in denial and don’t see any potential in yourself or problem in your actions. You're perfectly fine going about things just the way you've been OR you don't believe things can change so what's the point in doing anything.

  2. You become aware but still show some resistance to change. This stage is usually where my clients begin to stand firm in their old, comfortable ways (even though they aren't working) and tell me why another way won't work for them. In other words....excuses! In this stage, you do believe that things can change, but you don't trust the process and you fear the unknown.

  3. This is when you take personal responsibility. You're more willing to try other things, even if they are uncomfortable or unusual for you. This is the part where my clients trust the process and commit to doing what I ask them to do without complaints or excuses. As a coach, I have a gift for seeing your blind spots and helping you navigate through them, but again...you must trust the process. You're the caterpillar in a cocoon, so to speak!

  4. Finally, you have made an internal decision about how you want your life to be and what you want it to look like - so there's no more denying or resisting change. You’ve accepted responsibility and no longer see a need to cling tightly to certain parts of your life just because that's the way it's always been. You fully embrace everything it takes to upgrade to your next level. Essentially, you become the butterfly and begin to fly.

5 Simple Strategies for Developing the Discipline to Reach Your Goals


How do you ensure that you’re not wasting time on skill sets that won’t serve you as you develop the discipline to reach your goals?


  1. Identify your deep, emotional connection to your goals. If your goals don’t connect with you at a profoundly deep level, then when it comes time to choose between your feelings and your self-discipline to do a task...you’re gonna choose your feelings every time! Which means your goals don’t get achieved!

  2. Set realistic goals. When people set their goals too high, they often abandon them before they even get a chance to accomplish them. For example, if you’ve made $0 in your business, plan to make 1 million but don’t plan to do it overnight by tomorrow. That’s unrealistic and sets you up for failure.

  3. Create a specific plan for how you’ll reach your goal. How do you plan to achieve the small goals that add up to your big goal?

  4. Break down your plan into small chunks. Make sure that the first step in your plan is achievable. By achievable, I mean something that you can take action on right NOW! If it's not, then revise the goal until it delivers something more manageable. Your collective actions should unlock new actions that weren’t previously available to you.

  5. Keep track of your progress toward meeting the goal, and reward yourself when you achieve milestones along the way. Every win is a big win! Celebrating every moment helps to keep up the momentum!


By the way, it helps to see becoming disciplined as a goal rather than a punishment. It’ll make you happier in your daily life and more successful in achieving future goals.


If you're struggling with doing the things that you KNOW you should be doing to achieve your goals, then book a free strategy consultation call and let's see how I can help you guide towards becoming the person you truly desire to be! Click here to book your call.

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