A Guide to Developing the Self-Discipline Habit : zen habits

One of the most important things you can do to get better at self-discipline is to take small actions.

It can seem overwhelming to start big, intimidating projects. Instead, start with easy actions, things so small you can’t say no.

One of the reasons we don’t have self-discipline is because we run from the hard, uncomfortable things. We would rather do the easy, familiar things, that distract us.

One small task at a time, push yourself into discomfort. See how it feels. See that it’s not the end of the world. 

Develop mindfulness around those urges you have to quit doing something hard and see that you don’t have to follow them.

A good way to do that is to set a time for yourself where you can do nothing but X. For example, for the next 10 minutes, you can do nothing but write your book chapter (or exercise, meditate, etc.).

1. Set your intention to practice self-discipline and not hurt yourself anymore.
2. Set a task to focus on.
3. Set a timer for 10 minutes. Don’t go longer, until you get good at 10 minutes.
4. Do nothing but sit there and watch your urges, or push into your discomfort by doing the task.
5. When the timer goes off, give yourself a 5-minute break.
6. Repeat.

Don't get discouraged when you mess up. Failure means you tried. So it’s a victory from the start.

And it also means you learned something: you now know that what you tried didn’t work. Next time, you can try something a bit different.