 If you ask any successful person you know what was responsible for their success, I'm pretty sure they will mention a few things, one of which will be self-discipline. Self-discipline is a person's ability to control one's feelings and overcome their weaknesses. It is a person's ability to make themselves do things when they should, even if they do not feel like it. Jim Rohn, an American entrepreneur and auto, explains it this way. Self-discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments. It's like this, when you think of discipline, think of delayed gratification in the short term and enjoy greater rewards in the long term. Lou Holt, a former American football player and coach said, without self-discipline, success is impossible, period. You see, it takes a lot to overcome one's weaknesses and temptation. I mean to do that successfully, you should be able to decide and choose between what you want now and what you want most. That's where discipline comes in. Although it can be pretty challenging, anyone can learn how to improve their self-discipline. 1. Know your weaknesses Awareness is key to overcoming any challenge. So start by owning up to your flaws. Whether you cannot control your appetite, you are addicted to technology or you are unable to stop procrastinating often, whatever it is, admit it. Many times, people either try to pretend their vulnerability don't exist or cover it up. However, the only way you can overcome any of these habits is to acknowledge your weaknesses and then we can go ahead to figure out how to deal with it. 2. Set clear goals and have an execution plan Now you know what your weaknesses are. So you can set goals that can help you subdue them, one after the other. Not only are you setting goals but ensuring that they are clear enough to specify what you hope to achieve. You can't get to a destination that was never really a part of the plan. If you don't know where you're going, it's easy to lose your way or get sidetracked. Alongside setting a clear goal is to outline the steps that are necessary to achieve your goals. Like the tracks on the field, they are marked to guard the runner so that they don't fall into other people's lanes and lose focus of their race. Your plans are there to guide you until you get to your destination, which is achieving your goals. 3. Get rid of distractions Now we know our weaknesses and we also have goals and plans to help us achieve them. What's next? It's time to get rid of distractions. Remember our definition of self-discipline? It is doing what you should do, even when you don't feel like doing them. Again, because you don't feel like doing them, it's easy to allow yourself to get distracted by things that you love. It's easy to allow yourself to get distracted by the things that you love. So a great way to achieve your goal will be to get rid of the distraction. It could be your mobile phone, snacks in the fridge, television, sitting on meets your friends and family when you should be working, etc. It doesn't matter what tempts you quickly. The most important thing is to get it out of sight when it is time to work on your goals so that you don't get distracted by it. 4. Make yourself accountable Have you ever promised yourself to do something consistently for a while and then end up breaking your promise within only a few days of doing it? You see, the truth is that it's easier to break a promise or commitments to oneself than to break a promise made to other people. Whether you decide to tell your friend, mentor or even your social media troll that you are going to wake up at 5am every day to exercise, you'll be far less tempted to hit that snooze button. Well, I'm pretty sure that most of us would choose to go through the pain of sticking to our promise or commitments than to be humiliated publicly for not keeping our words. Our promise can help you go through it to accomplishing your goals because when you are held accountable by someone, especially someone whom you sincerely do not want to disappoint, success becomes almost automatic. 5. Create a new routine Creating a routine can help you focus more on your goals and also help you develop the discipline to accomplishing your goals. Daniel Goldstein, an American cognitive psychologist said, I think self-discipline is something like a muscle. The more you exercise it, the stronger it gets. To help create a routine or habit, break your goals into small doable steps. Instead of trying to change everything at once, focus on doing one thing consistently and master self-discipline with that goal in mind. When you know day to day what you need to accomplish your goal, it makes it easier to achieve it. It becomes more obtainable. For instance, if your goal is to become fit, try exercising 10 to 15 minutes every day. If it is to lose weight, you can substitute your dinner with fresh fruits and vegetables to avoid consumption of excess calories. If you want to finish writing your first book, you can dedicate 30 minutes to think and put down your thoughts every day. 6. Measure and track your progress How do you know that you are making progress if you don't measure or monitor your goals? By tracking your goals, you can see where you've succeeded or where you've fallen short and need to improve. 7. Reward your small wings Another good reason to track your progress is to be able to pat yourself on the back and say good job when you reach specific milestones. You see, anticipation is powerful. It gives you something to focus on and makes you enthusiastic enough to pursue your goals to completion. When you plan a reward for achieving your goals, it gives you something to be excited about and all you want to do is stop at nothing to achieve that goal. 8. Use your time wisely You can't learn self-discipline if you don't learn how to manage your time effectively. You need to know how to prioritize your priorities so that you won't spend your time focusing on the wrong thing. Also, you need to know how to delegate time for different activities, know when to play and when to work. One mustn't take the place of the other, otherwise you'll end up regretting your actions. 9. Don't forget to take care of your health Building self-discipline is a long-term goal that you cannot achieve within a short period. It takes time. There will be great days where you'll be impressed at your efforts and there will be days where you'll feel discouraged. However, do not beat yourself up or make yourself feel like a loser. No, doing that might affect your mental, emotional and physical health. You need to understand that it takes time to build a new habit so take it one step at a time. Good luck friend. Thank you very much for watching our videos. 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