Discipline in Small Steps
One of the ways that people struggle with developing self-discipline, is trying to make too many changes at once. Not just by doing more than one goal at a time but by making those goals way too large. These approaches tend to lead to failure.
An example of too many goals at once might be someone choosing to stop smoking, go on a diet, exercise regularly, build a successful business or get out of debt. All of these are good goals that can be done. If you try to do them all at once though, you will probably find it to be too much and fail. This is one of the reasons why resolutions rarely work out. Instead, focus on one or two of these for at least one to two months and work on them consistently to integrate the new habit before tackling new goals.
For example, take stopping smoking. You might start with that one since it has the most negative impact both on health and finances. So, you might start with just stopping smoking. You could spend a couple of months getting rid of the cigarettes and using aids like the nicotine patch to help. Then once you have completely stopped smoking and no longer need the patch, you can move on to the next goal or goals on your list.
You may find changing your diet and exercising more to be really overwhelming because they are both huge goals. So, another tactic to help you with discipline is to break them down into smaller goals. Instead of just stopping overeating, maybe you break it down into this week you cut your unnecessary sugar intake in half, then week two you cut it out completely. If you do this week by week making one small change, you may find it easier to stay in control.
Another way you can break it down is by intensity. So, say you want to exercise more but you have not exercised in years. If you start with something like a full workout, you may give up or get injured and then be unable to exercise at all. So instead of going full tilt, you can start by doing mini workouts at a lower intensity for a few days and over time add more minutes to your workout until you reach at least 20 to 30 minutes of activity. You can also over time increase the intensity of your workout as you get stronger and in better shape.
By breaking down the goals into smaller steps, you can make it easier to develop the discipline you need to accomplish them. You will also improve the chances of success in changing your habits.
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