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When you work towards building self-discipline, you definitely anticipate many ‘temptations’. The Oxford definition of temptation is ‘the desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise.’ Changing yourself from the person that you are from the beginning (who lacks self-discipline) to one who has great self-discipline is definitely going to take some time and will have its learning curve. You shouldn’t expect to move from one end to the other end of the spectrum instantly without facing any temptations. Here are a few strategies on how to overcome temptations and stay committed to your goal by self-discipline.
“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.” – Jim Rohn
Detach Yourself
A good tactic to overcome your temptations is to detach yourself from whatever tempts and excites you. For instance, if you are disciplining yourself to stop smoking or drinking, you could stop meeting your smoking or drinking buddies, or you could stop visiting the spots where you indulge in these bad habits.
Similarly, if you know you are likely to watch television even when you know you have to prepare for your college examinations, then you could cancel the cable subscription for a month.
Envision Resistance
Another helpful technique for overcoming temptation is to envision yourself resisting it. For instance, if you want to control your intake of sugary treats, you could visualize yourself picking up a candy bar, enjoying its aroma, and then putting it away. Do it several times until you feel confident you’ll do the same when a real candy bar actually appears in front of you. This method can help you to gain control over your emotions since these tend to be very volatile whenever you are faced with temptation. The more you overcome temptations (even if they are imagined), the more you will feel empowered to overcome them in real life. This, in the end, boosts your self-discipline.
Shun Immediate Gratification
Mostly, what lures you into giving in to temptation is the immediate gratification you experience. Unfortunately, the immediate gratification only lasts for a short period and instead leaves you feeling guilty. A useful tactic to overcome your temptations is to always weigh immediate gratification against the long-term consequences of giving in to your temptation. For instance, smoking may give you a sense of satisfaction for a few moments, but the long-term consequences of this habit are severe and include fatal diseases such as lung cancer.
One great way of overcoming immediate gratifications is to think about the worst-case scenario for giving in to the temptations. For instance, if you’ve been trying to develop the much-needed discipline to exercise in order to lose weight, you could probably think about what would happen if you don’t exercise and lose weight. What do you think is the worst that can happen if you are overweight? Whatever it is you fear most, think of it more often when you are about to give in to your temptation.
Distract Yourself
Giving too much thought to whatever is tempting can make it hard for you to overcome it. Don’t think too much about how much you are missing out when you don’t succumb to your temptations. Instead, you need to distract yourself as a way of ensuring you don’t put too much focus on the temptation and what you are missing. Research shows that doing something enjoyable or anything that keeps your mind occupied can help you fight your temptations easily. For instance, you could go for a walk, call a friend, or help your sibling with a chore the moment you find yourself becoming attracted to your temptation.
Motivate Yourself
You need to motivate yourself every step of the way to overcome temptation and gain self-discipline. For instance, whenever you accomplish a certain goal that helps you become more disciplined; you should praise and reward yourself. Make sure that the reward isn’t something you are trying to resist, but is something that encourages you to stay dedicated to your goal. For instance, if you have lost 5 pounds, then instead of treating yourself to a piece of cheesecake, you could buy a dress that shows off your new, slimmer figure. In so doing, you will definitely motivate yourself not to give up on your goal. Besides, studies have proven that you cannot really stay committed to anything if you don’t feel motivated to keep going.
Take Care of Yourself
You should also do some other things in a bid to build your self-discipline and overcome temptation. Let’s take a quick look at some of these:
- Stabilize the Glucose Concentration in Your Body
Studies have shown that low blood sugar level is closely related to diminished self-discipline. That’s why you are likely to give up on your quest to lose weight if you starve yourself. Hunger actually makes focusing hard in addition to making you grumpy and pessimistic. This in turn is likely to reduce your self-control and self-discipline. That doesn’t mean that you should eat as much as you can just to be self-disciplined. You want your blood sugar levels to be stable thus the need to eat small amounts of healthy protein and fats regularly.
- Sleep Well
Getting enough sleep (about 7-8 hours of sleep) can help you develop self-discipline. Research shows that when you sleep less, you water down your ability to stay focused on certain tasks. Here are a few ideas on how to ensure that you get enough sleep.
Dim the Lights: Often, people sleep with all lights switched on. Studies have shown that bright lights distract you and disrupt melatonin production. Melatonin is a hormone that your brain produces in response to darkness. It helps with the timing of your circadian rhythms (24-hour internal clock) and with sleep. Being exposed to light at night can block melatonin production. To maximize melatonin production and minimize distractions, ensure your bedroom lights are off or dim. The darker the room, the better.
Sleep on a Comfortable Bed: You might not realize it but it is probably your hard and uncomfortable bed that makes it difficult for you to sleep for seven consecutive hours. If that’s the case, you need to get a new, softer mattress that is comfortable to sleep on.
Overcome Stress
Stress is known to negatively influence self-discipline i.e. if you are stressed, you are likely to have a hard time staying self-disciplined. Getting enough sleep and doing regular exercise help you to overcome stress. Exercise helps regulate any hormonal imbalance that triggers stress and insomnia. Additionally, exercise boosts the production of serotonin. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, and some also consider it a hormone. The body uses it to send messages between nerve cells. It appears to play a role in mood, emotions, appetite, and digestion. It also reduces the levels of cortisol, which is a stress-triggering neurotransmitter in your body.
With more serotonin and less cortisol, you are bound to feel less stressed, nervous, and anxious than before. As a result, you are able to stick to what you started, overcome temptation, control your desires, and become more disciplined than ever. Several studies have shown that those who exercise regularly tend to be more disciplined than those who don’t.
(Excerpt is from ‘Self Discipline Mindset: Why Self Discipline Is Lacking In Most And How To Unleash It Now’ by Curtis Leone.)
