Discipline is an invaluable skill that can help you live your life more efficiently and effectively. Discipline is defined as an orderly or prescribed conduct or pattern of behavior. Discipline is the set of rules you live by. Discipline is self-control. Discipline creates habits and routines that make your life simpler. Discipline is making sacrifices in the present for rewards in the future. Building this inner resilience and strength allows you to reach your goals faster and achieve more. Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments. We live in a world that tests our discipline at every turn. We are surrounded by people, places, and things that tempt and lure us to take the easy or comfortable road. But as the saying goes, “easy choices, hard life, or hard choices, easy life.” Which will you choose? 

See the lifestyle section for some tips on building or enhancing your self-discipline.  

Movement 

Drop “All or Nothing” and adopt “Always Something”

• Avoid training so hard that you are debilitatingly sore the next day
• If all you have in 15 minutes, then do 15 minutes worth of work and make it count
• Be clear about what you want to achieve but flexible in how you get there
• 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing

Nutrition

Kitchen Clean Out

• Make sure your environment matches your goals  
• Eliminate things that don’t align with your goals (out of sight, out of mind)
• Make healthy foods visible, appealing, and easily accessible 
• Avoid excess: refined sugars, hydrolyzed oils, processed junk foods

Don’t wait to clean out your kitchen, do it today! 

Recovery

Benefits of Stretching

• Improves your performance in physical activities as well as activities of daily living
• Decreases your risk of injuries
• Helps your joints move through their full range of motion
• Increases blood flow
• Improves posture
• Helps manage and reduce stress and soreness

Whether it’s static or dynamic, five minutes or thirty minutes, upper body or lower body, stretching can be great for mental and physical recovery.

Lifestyle 

5 Tips for Building Self-Discipline 

• Identify your goals, your why, your strength and weaknesses, and your plan of action (write them down if possible)
• Start with small habits and goals (consistency over perfection)
• Create the right environment for success (eliminate distractions/temptations and make the right decisions easy to make)
• Have a trusted and reliable form of accountability (a person, a contract, a commitment, etc.)
• Continuously prioritize and pursue your journey (embrace failure, assess progress, and take daily action)