Discipline Is The Highest Form Of Self Love – Here’s Why!!

If you want to be successful, self-discipline is key. Unfortunately, many people view self-discipline as a negative thing. They think it means being hard on yourself and never allowing yourself some slack. That could not be further from the truth! Self discipline is the highest form of self love. And in this article, we are going to explore why that is. 

The difference between discipline and punishment

Let’s start with what is the difference between discipline and punishment.

The difference between discipline and punishment is that discipline is a choice, while punishment is not. 

When you punish someone, you make them do something against their will. When you discipline someone, you teach them how to behave in a way that benefits them. 

Discipline is about helping someone improve, while punishment is about making someone feel bad.

The difference between self-discipline and self-punishment

Now, let’s get into self-discipline and self-punishment.

Self-punishment is self-defeating because it makes you feel bad about yourself. When you punish yourself, you are saying that you are not good enough and that you don’t deserve to be successful. That can only lead to negative results. 

Self-discipline, on the other hand, is motivating because it comes from a place of loving yourself rather than punishing yourself.

Hence, the difference between self-discipline and self-punishment is that self-discipline is positive. It is about setting goals and working towards them, while self-punishing is about making yourself feel bad for not meeting your goals. 

So, what is self-discipline?

Most people think self-discipline is about willpower, but it’s so much more than that. 

Self-discipline is what allows you to:

• stay focused on your goals and pursue them relentlessly even when the going gets tough and you feel like giving up. 
• overcome procrastination, laziness, and all the other bad habits that stand in your way of success. 
• live a healthy balanced lifestyle by sticking to your diet and exercise regularly even when you’re surrounded by tempting junk food and comfortable couches. 
• save money, invest wisely, and grow your wealth over time, even when spending everything on instant gratification would be much easier. 
• be patient, persevere through difficulty, and achieve great things in life.

via GIPHY

Self discipline is the ability to do what you know you should, even when you don’t feel like it. It is the key to success in any area of life, and it all starts with deciding to love yourself enough to put your own happiness first. 

It is training oneself to do things you know are good for you. It’s a form of self-care and arguably the most critical kind. After all, you are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.

When you are self-disciplined, you tell yourself that you are worth the effort and deserve success. This positive mindset is what will help you achieve your goals. 

So, in a nutshell, self-discipline requires you to put your long-term happiness and well-being ahead of your short-term desires and comfort. 

And yes, it takes time and practice to develop this kind of discipline. But when you do, the rewards are immense. Because at the end of the day, everything else falls into place when you take care of yourself.

So, if you want to be the best version of yourself, start with self-discipline. 

>>Read more: How is your self-discipline? 18 questions to find out

Examples of Self-Discipline

But self-discipline is not just about setting goals and meeting them. It’s also about ensuring that you live a healthy and balanced life.

Here are a few self-discipline examples that will help you stay on track:

• Make sure that you get enough sleep each night.
• Make your bed when you wake up.
• Eat healthy foods and avoid junk food.
• Exercise regularly.
• Make time for yourself each day.
• Take breaks when needed.

When you practice self discipline in these areas, you will be able to live a healthier and happier life. You will feel more in control and less stressed out.

>> Read the full article here –  How to be more self disciplined – 25 self discipline examples that can change your life to the better

Self-discipline and willpower

But why do some people always seem to have the self-discipline to stick to their goals, while the rest of us always seem to fall short? 

The answer, it turns out, has less to do with innate ability and more to do with how we think about self-discipline in the first place.

Most people associate self-discipline with willpower. If we see someone who wakes up at 5:30 a.m. every day, consumes their homemade smoothie and exercises before heading to work, we presume they must possess great willpower and engage in self-abuse.

But this is not the case. In fact, they appear to be happy. How is that even possible?

The problem is that most of us see self-discipline as something that requires pure willpower. We berate ourselves for not trying hard enough when we give into temptation or procrastinate on a task.

But the problem with viewing self-discipline as willpower is that it sets us up for failure.

We try to use willpower to force ourselves to do things we don’t want to do, and then we beat ourselves up when we can’t resist temptation. 

This is because it has nothing to do with willpower in the first place. The issue with willpower is that it comes and goes. As a result, we no longer follow through on our commitments.

So, if not through willpower, how do we maintain self-discipline?

The key to self discipline and perseverance

Let us first go through a couple of examples:

Example 1

So, let’s say your goal is to be fit and exercise regularly, and you’ve been trying to go to the gym for as long as you can remember. You start a membership, keep it going for a few weeks, and then something happens, and you miss a day. The next day, something else happens, and you miss it again. Eventually, you lose track of why you stopped and can’t get it back together.

Example 2 

Let me give you another example. Say you want to uplevel your morning routine, and everyone keeps telling you to start journaling. But you just can’t get yourself to do it, so you always end up not doing anything.

Does these sound familiar? What do you think is going on?

Example 1

Let’s begin with Example 1. Your goal is to be fit and to exercise regularly. Fine.

But who said going to the gym was the only way to exercise? 

You obviously weren’t enjoying it, or you wouldn’t have stopped with the first excuse. Just because you don’t enjoy going to the gym doesn’t mean you should give up on your fitness and health goal. There are plenty of other ways to exercise that don’t involve going to the gym. 

You just have to find something that you enjoy enough to stick with. 

That could be anything from going for a run or a walk, practicing yoga or pilates, riding a bike, hiking, or even dancing. Simply choose something that you know you enjoy doing and that you value and find meaningful.

Example 2

So the goal was to uplevel your morning routine, but the problem was that you didn’t feel you resonated with journaling or perhaps with how people told you to journal, so you gave up and did nothing instead.

But who stated that was the only approach to journaling?

The truth is that you could find a different way to journal that is more aligned with your personality.

You don’t have to sit down and write out pages and pages of your life story if you don’t want to. Instead, try something like bullet journaling or even just using a simple notebook where you can jot down your thoughts for the day.

Or ditch journaling altogether and opt for something else that you know will help you feel better in the morning, such as drawing, painting, reading, meditating, or practicing affirmations.

The point is to find a way to do things that works for you and that you can stick to.

Because if you can’t stick to it, it will not do you any good anyway.

So, what is the key to self discipline and perseverance?

In a nutshell, the key to developing self-discipline and perseverance is not to rely on willpower but to find things you enjoy doing. 

Self-discipline isn’t about seeing how long you can hold your breath or enduring some self-imposed form of torture. That’s called self-abuse.

True self-discipline is:

• Enjoying the process of doing something difficult.
• Finding meaning and purpose in the things we have to do every day even when we don’t feel like it.
• Saying “no” to things that distract you from your goals.
• Saying “yes” to the things that help you move closer to them.
• Learning to enjoy the journey even when the destination seems far away.

So if you want to be more self-disciplined, forget about willpower and focus on finding meaning and purpose in your daily tasks. 

When you can do that, self-discipline will become a natural part of who you are instead of something you must fight for every day.

Discipline Is The Highest Form Of Self Love – Here’s Why!!

But something is still missing. It is not enough to simply do what you enjoy. Initially, you must fulfill something else. What is that? Well, first, you must LOVE YOURSELF!

Why? What does love have to do with discipline?

When I was younger, I used to think that discipline was a dirty word. It sounded harsh and punitive, like something used to keep children and people in line. But over time, I’ve come to see discipline in a different light. 

I now believe that discipline is the highest form of self love. Never in a million years did I imagine using those two words in the same sentence, but bear with me.

When you are disciplined, you essentially promise to do what you said you would.

And how can you do that if you don’t love and respect yourself?

The truth is you can ONLY keep that promise if you love and value yourself highly enough to put forth the effort necessary to act in your best interests even when you don’t want to.

Discipline requires you to be patient and kind to yourself. It requires you to listen to your body and give it what it needs, even when it’s not what you want. 

And above all, discipline reminds you that you are worthy of taking care of yourself – even when no one else is doing it for you. 

That is why discipline is the highest form of self love and why it is so important because it allows you to stay true to yourself and your values while still achieving your goals!

And to do so, you must first love yourself enough to be willing to go to any length to make yourself happy.

That might mean getting out for a run when you’d rather stay in bed or eat healthy food even when you’re craving junk. 

Sure, it’s not always easy to stick to your goals. There will be days (and maybe weeks or months) when you fall off the wagon and wonder why you bother trying. But if you can just hang on a little bit longer and give yourself some grace, I promise it will be worth it in the end. 

When you have self discipline, you can achieve anything!

That is why self-discipline is the highest form of self love because it shows that you believe in yourself. This positive mindset is what will help you achieve your goals. 

Because at the end of the day, self-discipline is about taking care of yourself – mind, body, and soul – and ensuring that you live the life you want. Not the life that someone else wants for you or that society tells you that you should live. But the life that is truly authentic to YOU.  

And isn’t that what we all want? 

To be happy and fulfilled with our lives? So next time you find yourself struggling with self-discipline, try thinking of it as the highest form of self-love instead. It might just make it a little easier to keep going.

>>Read more: The Ultimate 5 Levels Of Mastery Of Self-Discipline You Need To Be Successful In Life

The benefits of disciplined living

As we mentioned before, if you’re like most people, the word “discipline” probably brings images of someone being forced to do something they don’t want to do. But now you know that self-discipline is the highest form of self love.

Also, who said that leading a disciplined life had to be all punishment and no fun?

In fact, there are plenty of good reasons to embrace discipline in your life.

I’ll be the first to admit that self-discipline isn’t always my strong suit. There are many times when I let myself get lazy and slide into bad habits. However, I’ve noticed that when I am more disciplined in my life, I feel better overall. I’m more productive, have more energy, and generally feel happier. Being more disciplined has definitely been a positive change for me.

Why is that?

For starters, I think it is because self-discipline creates a sense of order in your life. It’s like having a personal roadmap that helps you stay on track and achieve your goals. When you’re disciplined, you’re less likely to get sidetracked by distractions or temptations. You’re also more likely to stick with your commitments and see things through to the end.

But not only that, when you take the time to care for yourself physically and emotionally, you are more likely to be satisfied with your life and experience a greater sense of well-being. Also, when you set high standards for yourself and strive to meet them, you’ll find that your life has more purpose and meaning.

And isn’t that what we all ultimately want?

Being disciplined doesn’t mean that you never take a break or that you never have any fun.

It simply means that you stick to a schedule and make choices that are good for you in the long run. It’s about saying no to things that distract you from your goals and yes to things that will help you achieve them.

How to use self-discipline to achieve your goals

As highlighted above, the path to self-discipline is not always easy, but it is definitely worth it. Here is the process I try to follow when I want to accomplish something and need to be more self-disciplined:

#1. Know your why

The first step to starting your self-discipline journey is to figure out your why. 

• Why do you want to be self-disciplined? 
• What are your goals? 
• What are you trying to achieve?
• Are you trying to accomplish a specific goal?
• Are you trying to improve your health? 
• Are you trying to become the best version of yourself?

What is it that you want to accomplish?

And the most important question: Why do you want to accomplish it?

So apart from finding things you enjoy doing, as I highlighted above, knowing your why is equally important. It will help you stay motivated. 

For example, if my goal was to get in shape, my why would be that I want to feel better about myself, improve my health, or keep up with life.

My why gives me something to focus on while exercising and helps me stay motivated when I don’t feel like exercising or eating healthy. 

So, take some time to think about your why and write it down. Keep it where you will see it often so you can be reminded of what you are working towards.

Having a clear why will help make the journey of self-discipline much easier.

No matter what your why is, make sure it’s something that will keep you going when things get tough. Because self-discipline definitely isn’t always easy. It can be really tough at times.

But that’s okay! Remember that every time you push through the tough times and practice self-discipline, you make it that much easier for yourself the next time.

#2. Identify your bad habits.

The next step is to identify your bad habits.

What are the things that you do that you know you shouldn’t be doing?

What are the things that are holding you back from being self-disciplined?

One of my bad habits is procrastination. I often find myself putting things off until the last minute. That is something that I know I need to work on if I want to be more self-disciplined.

Another bad habit I have is spending too much time on my phone. I often find myself scrolling through social media or browsing the internet when I should focus on other things. That is something that I need to cut back on if I want to be more disciplined.

Take some time to think about your own bad habits and make a list of them. Once you have identified your bad habits, you can begin working on fixing them.

#3. Create a plan

The next step is to create a plan. You need to set some goals and plan how you will achieve them.

Think about what you want to accomplish and set some goals. Make sure that your goals are realistic and achievable. For example, if your goal is to lose weight, a realistic goal would be to lose 1-2 pounds per week.

Once you have set your goals, you need to create a plan of how you will achieve them. That is where self-discipline comes in. You must be willing to put in the work and follow through with your plan.

You must be committed to sticking to your schedule and making the necessary changes in your life to achieve your goal.

That might involve limiting the ‘bad habits’ you listed in the previous point, setting reminders, scheduling time for specific tasks, or finding an accountability partner. Whatever strategy you choose, the important thing is to stick with it.

Example 1

For example, if one of your goals is to enroll in an online course and graduate, then part of your action plan might be to study for exams and do your assignments instead of going out with friends. 

Example 2

If you’re trying to cut back on spending, you could set a budget and stick to it.

Example 3

If you want to get back in shape, you need to start by making minor changes to your diet and exercise routine. You could commit to working out three times a week and start eating more fresh food. Over time, these changes will become habits, and you will begin to see results. 

Remember, self-discipline is all about taking small steps each day that will lead to significant results over time. 

#4. Start taking action

Once you have created your plan, it’s time to start taking action. That is where self-discipline comes in. You need to be willing to follow through with your plan and take action steps towards your goals.

If your goal is to improve your health, your action steps might involve eating healthy meals and exercising regularly. If your goal is to achieve a specific purpose, your actions might include taking steps towards that goal daily.

Whatever your goals are, ensure that you are taking action steps towards them. Without taking action, it will be challenging to achieve your goals.

#5. Set deadlines

One of the best ways to stay on track and be self-disciplined is to set deadlines. When you have a deadline, it will help to keep you focused and motivated. Make sure that your deadlines are realistic and that you can actually achieve them.

You can also set deadlines for smaller tasks. For example, if you want to write 500 words, set a deadline of 30 minutes. That will help you to stay focused and get the task done.

#6. Track your progress

It is critical to track your progress to see how far you have come. That will help to keep you motivated and inspired. There are a few different ways that you can track your progress.

One way is to keep a journal. Write down your goals and what you have done to achieve them. That will help you to see your progress and stay on track.

Another way to track your progress is to use a goal tracker. There are many different goal-tracking apps that you can use. That will help you to track your progress and stay motivated.

#7. Remove temptations

If there are things that tempt you to stray from your goals, it is essential to remove them from your life. These are a few examples:

• If you have unhealthy snacks in your house, get rid of them.
• If you spend too much time browsing social media, put a timer on the apps from your phone.
• If you know you will be tempted to procrastinate, make sure you remove anything that might tempt you.

It is also essential to avoid tempting situations.

• If you know you’ll be tempted to skip a workout if you get a cup of coffee first, don’t get it.
• Or don’t go window shopping with your friends if you know you will be tempted to spend money.

Avoiding temptation is a crucial part of being self-disciplined.

#8. Stop it with the self judgement attitude

We all have moments where we give in to indulgence. Whether it’s skipping a workout, eating an entire pint of ice cream, or staying glued to our phone when we said we would put it away, we’ve all succumbed to temptation. And in those moments, it’s easy to judge ourselves harshly. We beat ourselves up for not having enough self-discipline, for not being able to resist temptation.

But one of the most important things you can do is stop beating yourself up every time you screw up. We all screw up. It’s part of being human. What’s important is not whether or not you screw up but how you handle it when you do. 

Do you see your mistakes as a reflection of your worth as a person? Or do you see them as an opportunity to learn and grow? 

The self-judgemental voice in your head would make you believe that you’re a bad person every time you make a mistake. But that’s not true. You’re just human. 

Mistakes are part of being human. So, instead of beating yourself up the next time you give in to temptation, try to be more understanding and forgiving. Remind yourself that everyone struggles with self-control at times, and that you’re not a bad person just because you had a moment of weakness.

Try to learn from your mistakes and use them as motivation to do better next time. With a bit of self-compassion and self-awareness, you can start to overcome your weaknesses and become the best version of yourself.

#9. Celebrate your successes

Finally, use a rewards system to celebrate your success. For every goal that you achieve, reward yourself. That could be buying a new book or taking yourself out for coffee. 

Celebrating your successes, no matter how small they might be, is essential. It will help to keep you motivated and inspired.

It is also essential to share your successes with others. When you tell others about your accomplishments, it will help to keep you accountable and motivated to achieve more.

#10. Take things one day at a time.

Self-discipline is a journey, not a destination. Don’t get discouraged if you have a bad day or slip up. Just start the next day again and keep moving forward. 

Remember that progress is not always linear. There will be days where you feel like you’re taking two steps forward and one step back. But as long as you keep moving in the right direction, eventually, you will reach your goal.

If you want to improve your self-discipline, then these tips will help you. Just remember that it takes time and practice to develop this skill. Be patient with yourself and keep working towards your goals.

Self discipline is a choice

One of the most important things to remember about self-discipline is that it is a choice. 

You have to decide to be disciplined every day. 

Self-discipline is a choice. It’s a choice to:

• Love yourself above instant gratification
• Love yourself enough to do what’s best for you, even when it’s hard.
• Put your health and happiness first, even when that means saying no to things you really want.
• Stay focused and on track, even when life gets distracting and chaotic. 
• Live a happier, healthier, and more successful life. 

Self-discipline is not about being perfect; it’s about progress. You are on the right track as long as you keep moving forward.

And for sure, self-discipline isn’t always easy, but the key is never giving up. It requires strength and courage, but it’s worth it because it allows you to create the life you want. So make the choice today to love yourself, be self-disciplined, and start living the life of your dreams because, as we said, discipline is the highest form of self love.

Final thoughts

Most people think self-discipline is all about willpower, but it’s actually about having a positive outlook on yourself. When you improve yourself, you improve your life. That is why discipline is the highest form of self love.

If you want to be successful, happy, and healthy, you need to learn how to discipline yourself. That means making time for the things that matter, even when you don’t feel like it. It means saying no to temptation, even when it’s tough. And it means staying focused on your goals, even when life gets in the way. 

Self-discipline requires that you prioritize your well-being and happiness above all else. It means making choices that may be difficult at the moment but that you know are ultimately in your best interest. Self-discipline also requires being honest with yourself about your goals and remaining committed to achieving them even when you feel like giving up. 

But remember that discipline is the highest form of self love. So you need to do it from a place of love, not punishment. By being kinder to yourself, you will be better able to achieve your goals and lead a happier, healthier life.