I don’t count my sit-ups, I only start counting when it starts hurting, when I feel pain, that’s when I start counting, cause that’s when it really counts. Muhammad Ali
Discipline is the habit of taking consistent action until one can perform with unconscious competence. Discipline weighs ounces but regret weighs tons. Jhoon Rhee
The successful person has the habit of doing the things failures don’t like to do. They don’t like doing them either necessarily. But their disliking is subordinated to the strength of their purpose. E.M. Gray
Self-discipline begins with the mastery of your thoughts. If you don’t control what you think, you can’t control what you do. Simply, selfdiscipline enables you to think first and act afterward. Napoleon Hill
Self-discipline is an act of cultivation. It requires you to connect today’s actions to tomorrow’s results. There’s a season for sowing a season for reaping. Self-discipline helps you know which is which. Gary Ryan Blair
Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you. Never excuse yourself. Never pity yourself. Be a hard master to yourself-and be lenient to everybody else. Henry Ward Beecher
There is no easy way. There is only hard work, late nights, early mornings, practice, rehearsal, repetition, study, sweat, blood, toil, frustration, and discipline. Jocko Willink
Most talk about ‘super-geniuses’ is nonsense. I have found that when ‘stars’ drop out, successors are usually at hand to fill their places, and the successors are merely men who have learned by application and self-discipline to get full production from an average, normal brain. Charles M. Schwab
It doesn’t matter whether you are pursuing success in business, sports, the arts, or life in general: The bridge between wishing and accomplishing is discipline. Harvey Mackay
Forcing yourself to do what matters over what does not, however simple; what is difficult, over what is not, however convenient; and what is right over what is bogus, however expedient, is self-discipline. Saidi Mdala
Worrying about bills, food, or other problems leaves less capacity to think ahead or to exert self-discipline. So, poverty imposes a mental tax. Nicholas Kristof
Only those who value self-knowledge over self-satisfaction can achieve wisdom and only those who value self-discipline over self-indulgence can enjoy liberty. Jakub Bożydar Wiśniewski
Discipline yourself to do the things you need to do when you need to do them, and the day will come when you will be able to do the things you want to do when you want to do them. Zig Ziglar
Never believe a promise from a man or woman who has no discipline. They have broken a thousand promises to themselves, and they break their promise for you. Matthew Kelly
Focus on your goals and ambitions and less on people and things that are counterproductive. A few simple disciplines practiced everyday along with the right mindset will eventually give you the results you desire. Germany Kent
Getting new information through Web-surfing almost always feels more rewarding than having to generate new information in the work that is in front of us. It therefore takes increasing amounts of self-discipline to stay on task. Daniel Levitin
A lack of discipline quickly siphons away extra talent. That’s why it’s frequently the most disciplined rather than the most gifted who rise to the top. Unknown
Everybody starts at the top, and then has the problem of staying there. Lasting accomplishment, however, is still achieved through a long, slow climb and self-discipline. Helen Hayes Self Discipline Quotes
Just because you’re struggling with self-discipline doesn’t mean you have to raise the white flag and declare your self-improvement efforts a complete failure. Instead, work to increase the chances that you’ll stick to your healthier habits – even when you don’t feel like it. Amy Morin
Happiness is dependent on self-discipline. We are the biggest obstacles to our own happiness. It is much easier to do battle with society and with others than to fight our own nature. Dennis Prager
Winners embrace hard work. They love the discipline of it, the trade-off they’re making to win. Losers, on the other hand, see it as a punishment. And that’s the difference. Lou Holtz
If you set goals for yourself, and you’re like a lot of other people, you probably realize it’s not that your goals are physically impossible that’s keeping you from achieving them; it’s that you lack the self-discipline to stick to them. It’s physically possible to lose weight. It’s physically possible to exercise more. Daniel Goldstein
The individual who wants to reach the top in business must appreciate the might and force of habit. He must be quick to break those habits that can break him—and hasten to adopt those practices that will become the habits that help him achieve the success he desires. J. Paul Getty
In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves…self-discipline with all of them came first. Harry S. Truman
I’m very passionate about the use of sports in young people’s lives to build self-esteem and self-discipline and self-confidence. It’s been a big thing for me. Ed Skrein
I can tell you character traits I admire and work to develop in myself – perseverance, self-discipline, courage to stand up for what is right even when it is against one’s friends or one’s self. Dalia Mogahed
I see my upbringing as a great success story. By disciplining me, my parents inculcated self-discipline. And by restricting my choices as a child, they gave me so many choices in my life as an adult. Because of what they did then, I get to do the work I love now. Amy Chua
It is time to return to core values, time to get back to basics, to self-discipline and respect for the law, to consideration for the others, to accepting responsibility for yourself and your family – and not shuffling it off on other people and the state. John Major
Self-discipline is often disguised as short-term pain, which often leads to long-term gains. The mistake many of us make is the need and want for short-term gains (immediate gratification), which often leads to long-term pain. Charles F. Glassman
I’m especially honored that The Black Gents will debut Off-Broadway and pay tribute to The Tuskegee Airmen and other ancestors of that time who have embodied excellence, self-determination, and self-discipline. Lamman Rucker
Self discipline is extremely valuable, especially for entrepreneurs. If you lose everything, but you still have self discipline remaining, you’ll get back everything you lost and multiples times more. Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr.
Respect your efforts, respect yourself. Self-respect leads to self-discipline. When you have both firmly under your belt, that’s real power. Clint Eastwood
Mental toughness is many things and rather difficult to explain. Its qualities are sacrifice and self-denial. Also, most importantly, it is combined with a perfectly disciplined will that refuses to give in. It’s a state of mind-you could call it character in action. Vince Lombardi
Many men and women in the world demonstrate great willpower and self-discipline in overcoming bad habits and the weaknesses of the flesh. Ezra Taft Benson
If the self-discipline of the free cannot match the iron discipline of the mailed fist-in economic, political, scientific and all other kinds of struggles as well as the military-then the peril to freedom will continue to rise. John F. Kennedy
When people ask me about what I learned from martial arts, I don’t talk about favorite punches or kicks, or about fights won or lost. I talk about learning self-discipline, about ethics and manners and benevolence and fairness. Jonathan Maberry
It is time to reverse this prejudice against conscious effort and to see the powers we gain through practice and discipline as eminently inspiring and even miraculous. Robert Greene
You will never have a greater or lesser dominion than that over yourself…the height of a man’s success is gauged by his self-mastery; the depth of his failure by his self-abandonment. …And this law is the expression of eternal justice. He who cannot establish dominion over himself will have no dominion over others. Leonardo da Vinci
Success is created through the performance of a few small daily disciplines that stack up over time to produce achievements far beyond anything you could of ever planned for. Failure, on the other hand, is just as easy to slip into. Failure’s is nothing more than the inevitable outcome of a few small acts of daily neglect performed consistently over time so that they take you past the point of no return. Robin Sharma
Long-term, we must begin to build our internal strengths. It isn’t just skills like computer technology. It’s the old-fashioned basics of self-reliance, self-motivation, self-reinforcement, self-discipline, self-command. Steven Pressfield
Waking up early maintains your self-discipline. Get up and read, workout, journal, meditate or grind. How you start the day sets the tone. Genereux Philip
Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the high road to pride, selfesteem, and personal satisfaction. Margaret Thatcher
We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort. Jesse Owens
The great master key to riches is nothing more or less than the self-discipline necessary to help you take full and complete possession of your own mind. Napoleon Hill
Teach yourself to be grateful no matter how little you have or receive. That’s the first step to contentment. Self-discipline is the key. Verliza Gajele
Success doesn’t just happen. You have to be intentional about it, and that takes discipline. John C. Maxwell
Summary
Self-discipline is the capacity to move forward, maintain motivation, and act despite any physical or mental discomfort. You demonstrate it when you consciously decide to work toward improving yourself, even in the face of obstacles like diversions, difficulty, or adverse circumstances.
A person’s level of self-discipline is a better predictor of success than their IQ, according to research.
Like any other skill you want to improve, you need to develop a plan and be intentional about improving your self-discipline.
Choose an area of your life where you want to develop better self-discipline. It could be a fitness goal, a work related goal, a personal development goal, or a financial goal.
Define and commit your goal in writing in terms of an important “why” in your life. A good way to phrase this is state your goal followed by the words “so that” As an example: I want to workout five times a week so that I am in better overall health and will have enough stamina to be a better wife and mom. Keep the challenge small to begin with. As you develop your self-discipline muscle, you can move on to bigger challenges in all areas of your life.
Identify the challenges and distractions you’ll probably encounter as you work toward your objective, and then come up with a plan of attack for each one. Maybe you feel you don’t have enough time, the necessary equipment, or a place to exercise.
Start a notebook to record your objectives and monitor your development and improvement. This supports the constructive life adjustments you’re making and provides you with a record you may review later to gauge your success.
When you achieve success, treat yourself to something that you enjoy. Celebrating your successes will keep things enjoyable and bolster your resolve to press on.
Be patient (but persistent) with yourself. Progress takes time and it is not a continuum of improvement day after day. You will find some days, you will take a step back. That is normal and is not a reason do get discouraged. That is why it is important to not tackle too many goals at once and to make your goals be set at levels that push you, but that don’t overwhelm you.
