The Discipline To Achieve Your Goal

Achieving your goals takes a lot of dedication and hard work.  It’s not always easy.  It’s challenging, trying, and sometimes you feel like giving up.  You might stop making progress towards your goals, sit on the sidelines and take a beat, questioning everything you’re doing.  But, if you realize deep down that this goal is something you truly want to achieve, then you’re going to have to find the discipline to achieve your goal.

Definition

Discipline is defined as training yourself to do something in a controlled and habitual way.  It’s being disciplined to follow through on completing the action items to work towards your goal.  It’s not to discipline yourself in a mean way for getting something wrong.  Instead, it’s to teach you to be disciplined in taking continual action towards your goal each day.  It’s having processes, habits, routines, and set boundaries so that you can prioritize your goal related activities.  Having the discipline to achieve your goal means focusing on what’s important, doing the work, and sticking with it until completion.  It’s not giving up and being hard on yourself just because it becomes difficult.

Be Disciplined

Sometimes you just need the discipline to achieve your goals.  Maybe you’ve found the time to work on your goals but you’re still wasting it away by making something else a priority rather than working your goals.  Perhaps you’re spending more money than you should and you just need the discipline to reduce expenditures.  It could be that you have all the resources you could possibly ever need but you’re just too afraid to take action towards your goals.  Be disciplined to know your strengths, weaknesses, what’s working, and what’s not working.  Be honest with yourself about what’s actually holding you back from achieving your goals this year and have the discipline to create habits to help you get there.

Habits

You’re going to have to create systems, processes, and structure your day to be disciplined at achieving your goals.  Maybe that’s committing to using your planner to stay on track.  Perhaps it’s waking up an hour earlier to work on a goal related task first thing in the morning.  It could be stacking one new habit with an existing habit.  For example, you just got done with lunch so you add a 10 minute walk afterwards.  Remember, having discipline is to do the same thing in a controlled, habitual manner.  Find ways to establish new healthy habits to help you achieve your goals this year.

Ask For Help

Lastly, realize where you could use some extra support, help, or accountability in certain areas to assist you in achieving your goals.  It’s not weak to ask for help.  It’s a strength to have the courage to know when you need it.  Maybe that’s finding an accountability buddy, coach, mentor, someone to help you with a particular part of your goals, etc.  Know your strengths of what you’re good at and can handle on your own.  Then, acknowledge your weaknesses and don’t be afraid to ask for help.  If achieving your goals is important to you this year, then you’ll swallow your pride and get the help you need to make it happen.

Working towards your goals is hard work.  The first step is knowing what tasks need to get completed in order make progress towards your goal.  The next step is having the discipline to actually follow through and complete these action items.  Have integrity with yourself to do the things you say you’re going to do.  Be disciplined, make your goals a priority, and take the necessary actions.  If it’s important enough to you, you’ll find the time, money, and resources to make it happen.  If it’s not a priority, then you’ll make very little progress towards your goals this year.  Do not let that happen to you.  Be disciplined and create those healthy habits to help you stick with it to achieve your goals this year!

Take Action Challenge

The 7 Day Discipline Challenge

This challenge will help you turn discipline into something doable.

Step 1: Choose One Goal

Pick one goal you want to actively work on right now.  Not five.  Just one.

Step 2: Identify the ONE Non-Negotiable Action

Ask yourself:  If I did only one small thing each day for this goal, what would actually move the needle?

Write that action down.  Make it simple and realistic (10–15 minutes max).

Step 3: Create Your Discipline Anchor

Decide when and where this action will happen every day for the next 7 days.

Examples:

• Right after you pour your morning coffee

• Immediately after lunch

• The first thing you do in the morning

This removes decision fatigue and builds consistency.

Step 4: Remove One Discipline Leak

Be honest about what’s sabotaging your follow-through:

• Social media scrolling

• Staying up too late

• Overcommitting

• Avoidance

• Procrastination

Choose one thing to limit or remove for the week to protect your discipline.

Step 5: Add Accountability

Tell someone your plan, write it in your planner, or track it daily with a simple habit tracker checkmark.

Creating visible accountability will increase your likely hood of following through.

Step 6: End the Week With Integrity

At the end of 7 days, reflect:

• Did you follow through?

• What helped you stay disciplined?

• What made it more difficult?

• What needs to change next week?

Celebrate for showing up.  Remember, discipline is built through repetition, not perfection.