5 Ways to Build Greater Self-Discipline

What does self-discipline look like at work? Sometimes it’s the ability to resist temptation, such as distractions to avoid a particular task, or taking a donut from the break room. Other times it’s the ability to persist with a task when your energy and motivation seem to be running low. The solution may be as simple as altering the environment, such as avoiding the breakroom if someone brings in donuts to share. When your situation requires a bit of creativity, consider these five methods from psychology for building greater self-discipline or self-control.

The Power of Reinforcement

When you demonstrate self-discipline, it’s important to take advantage of each instance as an opportunity to reinforce such behavior. The reinforcement doesn’t have to be big or substantial, but should be something you enjoy or appreciate, and be administered soon after the behavior. That is, how can you treat yourself in some small way for having just resisted temptation, or having persisted when you didn’t feel like it? Simply taking a moment to recognize your accomplishment and congratulating yourself may be an effective form of reinforcement. The effect of reinforcement is that the behavior being reinforced is more likely to occur in the future. Many people we admire for their self-discipline are simply good at reinforcing themselves, even if just mentally.

The Power of the Future

Many times the benefits of exercising self-discipline are relatively far off in the future, whereas the payoffs for not exercising self-control are relatively immediate. One beneficial practice is to picture yourself at some point in the future, having reaped the benefits of exercising self-discipline now. For example, imagine yourself in a better job or enjoying a promotion as a result of consistently tackling dreaded tasks. Or picture yourself older but healthy and trim as a result of resisting the temptation to snack at work. In what ways would your future life be better if you exerted self-discipline now?

The Power of Implementation Intentions

Implementation intentions are little rules you create for yourself so that you have already pre-decided how you will respond in particular situations. They typically take the form of “When X, I will do Y.” For example, “When I am assigned a task I dislike, I will start on it the same day.” Or, “When I see donuts in the break room, I will ignore them and go about my business.” By pre-deciding how you will react, and immediately following your implementation intention, you remove the need to decide in each situation. Deciding repeatedly in the moment increases the likelihood that at some point you will make a decision that involves a lack of self-discipline.

The Power of Role Models

Who do you know who seems to be the paragon of self-discipline? When you find your self-discipline waning, imagine what that other person would do in the same situation. Research has shown that picturing a role model for self-discipline and what they would do ends up bolstering our self-control in that situation.

The Power of Building That Muscle

Think of self-discipline as a muscle. Like any muscle, it gets stronger with exertion. So, by practicing acts of self-discipline that are not overwhelming, you increase your ability to exert self-discipline in more difficult situations. This practice involves identifying situations in which you feel confident that you could exhibit self-control, and then intentionally enacting those situations to build the ability to exert self-control in other situations.

All of the practices described here are effective at bolstering self-discipline. By employing all five, you will be well on your way to increased self-discipline and the benefits that accrue from the consistent practice of self-control.