7 Ways to Gain Self Discipline and Strive Towards Greatness

Feel like giving up on your 2017 goal? These tips will help you push through.

learn more about Rose Leadem

By Rose Leadem

Shutterstock.com

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

We’re a few weeks into the 2017, and right now is the most crucial time to stick to your goals. But it can also be the most difficult time.

So, if you feel like giving up -- hold on and remember, it will get easier.

If you’ve started to get off course with your goals, here’s your opportunity to get back on track.

Check out these seven helpful tips to help you gain self discipline and reach success.

 

Commit to daily excellence

Look at all of the successful people around you -- whether it is a close family member, friend, or a celebrity you admire -- and imagine how they think and go about their daily lives. You’ll notice something each of them have in common: a commitment to daily excellence, explains Entrepreneur contributor Matt Mayberry. No matter what you do for a living, it’s important to constantly strive for excellence every single day. If you do this on a daily basis, you may not see instant improvements but over time your hard work will become clear. Everything you do, you should do with all of your heart.

Read more: To Be an Extraordinary Achiever, Commit to Daily Excellence

Get enough sleep

To be successful, have self control and build discipline, a simple solution is getting enough sleep. Most people think that sleep doesn’t have much effect on their work or mood, when in fact it’s a key factor. Create an effective sleep routine by going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, listening to soothing music and creating a comfortable environment, says contributor and content strategist Rehan Ijaz.

Read more: 3 Ways Entrepreneurs Can Make It Big by Getting Enough Sleep

Prioritize correctly

Don’t get caught up in small, mundane tasks and make sure you’re prioritizing your tasks every day. To continue to strive toward your goals, “focus solely on themes that will drive growth,” says Entrepreneur contributor and co-founder of NerdWallet Jake Gibson. Forget about being perfect, do the hardest things first and focus on one thing at a time -- these quick hacks will help you prioritize your days and your life better, this create more discipline and self-control.

Read more: First Things First: The 5 Secrets to Prioritization

Learn how to say ‘no’

These two words are often the hardest to say, but it’s important to be able to politely say “no” to someone so you can avoid overloading yourself. “Any time someone asks you to do something, it’s important to take a step back and ask yourself -- what value is this providing to me and/or my business?” says Michelle van Slyke, Entrepreneur contributor and VP of marketing and sales for The UPS Store.

If you take on more than you can handle, you risk losing sight of your vision and goals.

Read more: 3 Ways to Take Charge of Your Schedule

Forgive yourself

There’s no reason to lose sleep over a silly mistake or a slip up. Instead of letting it drown you in guilt or regret, just learn from it and move on. If you let it hold you back, it will affect other aspects of your life and deter you from goals you’ve set. “Learn from the past but don’t dwell there,” one of our contributors and owner of Due.com John Rampton says. Use your negative experiences to learn and better yourself. Forgive yourself and any others who may have wronged you, move on and keep towards your goal.

Read more:: 8 Steps to Move Away From the Past You Need to Leave Behind

Learn to tolerate discomfort

When you’re striving towards new goals, it’s not going to be easy, and it’s not always going to feel comfortable. In fact, it will likely feel uncomfortable -- but it’s important you tolerate and even embrace these feelings of discomfort in order to grow. Stepping out of your comfort zone will help push you to do things you never thought you could. Plus, it will instill feelings of power, motivation and self discipline.

“A little discomfort can go a long way to help us learn, grow and change,” says Entrepreneur contributor psychologist Tasha Eurich. “When we experience new things, we create new neural pathways that kick start our creativity … In addition to making us creative geniuses, new experiences enhance our memory.”

Read more: Discomfort Is What You Feel When You're Growing

Visualize success

“Visualize your positive future and you’ll have an easier time reaching that peak performance,” says Entrepreneur contributor Matthew Toren. When you visualize success and the future you desire, your body and mind will be motivated to reach this place once it understand what it wants. Once you mentally picture yourself in certain scenarios, you’ll begin making decisions that will help you reach that place.

Read more: If You Envision It, It Will Come

Rose Leadem
Rose Leadem is a freelance writer for Entrepreneur.com. 

Related Topics

Editor's Pick

Everyone Wants to Get Close to Their Favorite Artist. Here's the Technology Making It a Reality — But Better.
The Highest-Paid, Highest-Profile People in Every Field Know This Communication Strategy
After Early Rejection From Publishers, This Author Self-Published Her Book and Sold More Than 500,000 Copies. Here's How She Did It.
Having Trouble Speaking Up in Meetings? Try This Strategy.
He Names Brands for Amazon, Meta and Forever 21, and Says This Is the Big Blank Space in the Naming Game
Business News

These Are the Most and Least Affordable Places to Retire in The U.S.

The Northeast and West Coast are the least affordable, while areas in the Mountain State region tend to be ideal for retirees on a budget.

Leadership

Are You Being Too Soft as a Leader? You Might Need to Try a Different Approach

At the core of leadership, we must provide purpose, direction and motivation to our employees — but not everyone is using the right leadership style to offer these things. Here's why you might need to consider a more rigid approach.

Starting a Business

Shopify's President Breaks Down the Best Ways to Grow Your Ecommerce Business

Entrepreneur magazine Editor in Chief Jason Feifer and Shopify President Harley Finkelstein discuss the best strategies to grow an ecommerce business.

Business News

I Live on a Cruise Ship for Half of the Year. Look Inside My 336-Square-Foot Cabin with Wraparound Balcony.

I live on a cruise ship with my husband, who works on it, for six months out of the year. Life at "home" can be tight. Here's what it's really like living on a cruise ship.

Business News

American Airlines Sued After Teen Dies of Heart Attack Onboard Flight to Miami

Kevin Greenridge was traveling from Honduras to Miami on June 4, 2022, on AA Flight 614 when he went into cardiac arrest and became unconscious mid-flight.