The path to achieving goals
Do you ever wonder why you have challenges achieving your goals?
Is it because of others? Or is it because you are lazy or not good enough? Or perhaps, you have not been given the right opportunity or luck?
I would guess these are not the reasons why you have not achieved your goals. If we examine together with your daily routines and habits, this is where we might find the cause. Creating and setting new goals is a process by itself and one which requires a different discussion. Assuming, for the moment, you have your goals, it is essential to examine what you are doing daily to move towards them.
Have you developed a structure to your day that enables daily progress towards your most important goals? Are you consistent daily? Do you find yourself getting off-track regularly?
Now, it is time for a new process to progress towards what you want most in your life.
Daily discipline provides the momentum.
The dictionary defines discipline as training someone to follow rules or codes of behavior.
Perhaps, you have seen these words before; self-mastery, willpower, strictness, regulation, will, practice, preparation, and control.
These are all excellent ways to expand on definitions of discipline.
They are also the path to achieving your goals if you follow them.
Examples of daily discipline
First, think about all the routine things you do in your everyday life. For example, eating, sleeping, working, studying, exercise, daily hygiene, and so on.
If you examine them, how would you rate them on a scale of 1-10 with 1-3 being terrible, 5, so-so, and 8-10, great? You might discover that you may or may not have a process in place for the routine things that you do in your life.
Do you think about what you eat and when to eat?
Do you go to sleep at the same time and get up at the same time? Do you have a regular process to getting to sleep? When it comes to work, is it planned?
Do you schedule when to do work, when to take breaks and how to approach your work? Do you enjoy your job? If so, what are you doing daily to maintain this joy? If not, what are you doing now to change your work?
If you are in school, what process do you use to complete your assignments?
Do you plan out your assignments on a schedule? Do you use a process like mind-mapping or note cards to organize your ideas and learning? Do you exercise at something which you enjoy? Are you consistent with your exercise?
Are your habits healthy? Are you consistent with your daily hygiene? Are some days excellent and other days you don’t pay enough attention to how you take care of yourself?
The path to achieving your goals is a daily discipline.
What happens when new habits replace old habits
Magic! And it doesn’t take that many times to replace bad daily habits with new, improved practices. Make a list of all the daily routines you do, preventing you from progressing towards your goals. Use the areas above as examples to get started. For example, do you just eat when hungry, without thinking or planning ahead, which foods might be healthy for you? If not, what new habits might you start to follow to improve your diet? For studying, do you procrastinate and usually wait until the last minute to start on your assignments? What if you began to plan and schedule out your tasks, starting with the due date and working backward?
It will be challenging to adopt new habits because we get used to the ways things are.
But you can change with the right focus.
The effect of daily discipline
The proof of new habits will be when you start to make better progress towards your goals. These new habits and a sense of daily discipline will give you greater confidence, happiness, and a sense of control in your life. You will feel better about yourself. Your relationships with others will improve. Your physical and mental states will improve. Your motivation will improve as you see signs of progress and greater daily productivity. Life is lived moment to moment, and it is in those moments where a disciplined life will enable the most positive results for you!
I’ll be cheering you on as you go.