Have you ever been tempted to do something for which you later feel really guilty about? Moments like these are usually due to a lack of discipline. Self-discipline is one of the strongest things to achieving your fitness goals. With strong self-discipline, you can do what you need to do in each moment without temptation or laziness getting in the way. Self-discipline forces you to say no to extra dessert, or helps you maintain a consistent workout regime to achieve your fitness goals. It empowers you to live a life that you ideally want to, helping you look better and feel better.

However, it is becoming more difficult to maintain self-discipline. But without discipline, you’re letting your life be controlled by your emotions, which may not be what you are seeking for. Remember from my previous post that discipline and willpower is finite, and will be exhausted throughout the day. But how do you develop good self-discipline? Read on to find out!

*We all know that self-discipline is important. But how do develop constant self-discipline?*

Start Small

Sometimes having such a huge goal can be daunting. For example, if your aim is to lose weight, and you target to lose 2 kg of fat per month, jumping in with this tough goal with no prior experience or knowledge can set yourself up for failure. Instead, you might consider starting smaller than that by first substituting all sugary drinks with plain water during your meals. Once you have mastered that habit of substitution, you can move on to eating a piece of fruit before every meal. Then take small steps forward. In this way, you’ll build momentum and confidence to continue moving forward. Other examples of small steps include walking 7,000 steps a day, heading to the gym for just 30 minutes at least once a week, sleeping at least 7 hours a night, or simply filling a quarter of your plate with greens each meal. All these small steps can cumulative to significant results!

*Taking small steps each day, both figuratively and literally, can amount to significant results!*

Practice Daily

By starting small, you are already practicing many of these actions daily. By doing so, you’re actually creating a feedback loop which slowly enforces the habit. But it is important to set the right expectations. The start of any habit creation is the hardest. The first month of substituting sugary drinks can cause even more cravings. The first few days of walking 7,000 steps can be tiring. Even thinking about heading to the gym can make you feel like giving up. But if you’re able to get through these obstacles, the rest will slowly become habitual, and things will get easier from there.

When I started my first job as an engineer, I was busy and could not find the time to workout. After each day I was just so exhausted, I wanted to go home and lie in bed and watch Netflix. But I realized that I was starting to put on a lot of weight and I felt like I needed to do something. I starting to go to the gym early in the morning before work and the first few days were so tiring. I asked myself every morning whether I wanted to go, but realized that if decided not to go to the gym, I will never be able to achieve the fitness goals I set out for. There was no alternative. Luckily, lifting was a great form of stress relief so that helped me a little. And as the weeks go by, I realized that waking up to gym felt easier and easier, and I have never stopped since!

*Every morning you have two choices. Continue to sleep with your dreams, or wake up and chase them.*

Ramp it Up

After you have mastered the smaller tasks and made them habits, it is time to slowly ramp it up. Using the same example, you can slowly ramp up 7,000 steps to 8,500 steps and finally 10,000 steps a day. Then you can try light jogging or cycling or even doing high intensity interval training when you think you’re ready to challenge yourself. In terms of nutrition, once you’re able to consistently fill a quarter of your plate with greens each meal, try filling another quarter with proteins, and a quarter with grains, and the last quarter with fruit! You can even take a step further once you’re confident to track calories, and learn about what you’re actually putting into your mouth.

When I first started lifting weights, I made it a point to do it at least twice a week. Anything more would be a bonus. Once I felt that things were getting habitual, I increased the frequency to 3 times a week, and then 4 and finally 5 times a week! But that was done progressively, and so it didn’t seem so daunting. But now it just becomes a habit and if I lifted weights less than 5 times a week that’ll seem quite out of place for me.

*A third greens, a third protein, and a third grains is an easy way to estimate food portions for weight loss!*

Love the Process

We all have heard the quote by Marc Anthony: “If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. As much as there is much truth in this quote, there will be aspects of anything that you enjoy and you do not. People often get turned off by the parts they do not enjoy, and then give up on the whole idea. You might love to get fit and have a nice body. You might love to feel healthy. You might love to live a long life. But each of these pursuits also come with drawbacks, and that’s where discipline comes into play. With the right discipline, you’ll be able to stick through the tough parts of training and nutrition, and help you enjoy the process further. Working out on a Friday night when others are out partying may not be your idea of fun. But the sense of accomplishment building muscle, sweating it out and getting stronger can be immensely rewarding in the longer term.

So how can you grow to love your process? First, appreciate the craftsmanship of your work. It takes self-control to sustain a good nutrition plan. It takes time and effort to master your lifting techniques. It takes grit to do it even when you do not feel like it. It takes patience to establish a habit. Appreciate every single part of this journey. Next, focus on developing and mastering these skills. How can you better sustain your nutrition plan? How can you add in foods you love yet still adhering to what you set out to do? How can you lift in a more efficient manner? How can you build muscle in the most effective way? How can you rely less on motivation but more on habits? How can you fine-tune your habit development so you can achieve your goals faster?

When I first started on this journey, it was tough. A lot of focus was on the pain of working out and sacrificing foods. But I realized I needed to improve my craftmanship. I learnt the best way to build muscle, the most sustainable nutrition plan, and how to do all these for the long haul. Through enjoying this process, things just got easier for me.

*As I started to learn how to build muscle in the most efficient manner, I started to love the process more and more.*

Conclusion

We all want that perfect body. But that cannot come without exercising and dieting, which can be so difficult for many, because it requires a lot of discipline. But how do you master it? Small steps, practice daily, ramp it up, and love the process!

P.S. - need more help mastering self-discipline and learning how to love the process? Try out my online coaching!