Ultimately, the only power to which man should aspire is that which he exercises over himself - Elie Wiesel .Self discipline is the ability to train our self to take action regardless of our emotional state. It helps us choose our behavior and reactions, instead of being ruled by them.

Imagine what we could accomplish if we could simply get ourselves to follow through our best intentions, no matter what. The pinnacle of self-discipline is when we reach the point that when we make a conscious decision; it’s virtually guaranteed we’ll follow through on it.

Self-discipline is freedom and it won't make life dull or boring. On the contrary, Self-discipline can empower us, making us in charge of ourselves and our surroundings. It can wipe out procrastination, disorder, and ignorance. Within the domain of problems it can solve, self-discipline is simply unmatched. Moreover, it becomes a powerful teammate when combined with other tools like passion, goal-setting, and planning.

The more we train self-discipline, the stronger we become. The less we train it, the weaker we become.

Training: The basic method to build self-discipline is to tackle challenges that we can successfully accomplish but which are near our limit. This doesn’t mean trying something and failing at it every day, nor does it mean staying within our comfort zone. We will gain no strength trying to lift a weight that we cannot budge, nor will we gain strength lifting weights that are too light for us. We must start with weights/challenges that are within our current ability to lift but which are near our limit

Progressive training means that once we succeed, we increase the challenge. If we keep working out with the same weights, we won’t get any stronger. Similarly, if we fail to challenge ourselves in life, we won’t gain any more self-discipline.

The more disciplined we become, the easier life gets. Challenges that were once impossible for us will eventually seem like child’s play. As we get stronger, the same weights will seem lighter and lighter.

Examples for learning self-discipline

1) Getting up at the planned time.

2) Make your bed.

3) Iron your clothes.

4) Take care of your body.

5) Being punctual.

6) Do things that you are tempted not to do.

7) Not checking emails too often.

8) Not seeing the stock ticker too often.

9) Keeping you office desk clean.

10) Getting the work done as it comes.

11) Once you get back to home, not sitting back on couch and browsing internet or watching TV for long.

12) Not reading unimportant gossip in the newspaper, even if you want to.

13) If you find yourself thinking unimportant, unnecessary, negative thoughts, try to develop lack of interest in them, by thinking about their futility.

……the list can go on and on…..

Overcome your laziness. Convince yourself of the importance of what is to be done. Convince your mind that you gain inner strength when you act and do things, in spite of laziness, reluctance or senseless inner resistance. The idea is to train the mind so that it is not tempted to drift away from the noble thought of doing karma.

Don’t compare to other people. It won’t help. We’ll only find what we expect to find. If we think we are weak, everyone else will seem stronger. If we think we are strong, everyone else will seem weaker. There’s no point in doing this. Simply look at where we are now, and aim to get better as we go forward.

Self discipline is like the antivirus for our life.