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    178. 5 steps for building self discipline

    Self-discipline is essential for achieving goals and improving life. Use tools like Canva for presentations, protect teeth with Pronamel, and stay committed to personal growth with Nature's Way multivitamins.

    enMarch 15, 2024

    About this Episode

    Self discipline is the key ingredient to unlocking everything you want in life. But despite that many of us treat it like its optional and believe the narrative that self discipline requires perfection, requires sacrifice and is too hard. Actually, self discipline is anything but, it is actually the road of least resistance. In this episode we break down 5 tips for building self discipline in any area of life: 

    1. Understanding your motivation
    2. Leveraging social accountability and desirability bias 
    3. The power of micro habits 
    4. Hacking our dopamine systems through instant versus delayed gratification
    5. Shifting from learned helplessness to learned industriousness 

    All of that and more! Listen now!

     

    Follow the podcast: @thatpsychologypodcast

    Follow Jemma: @jemmasbeg

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    🔑 Key Takeaways

    • Use Pronamel toothpaste and mouthwash for oral health, Intuit's platform for financial management, build self-discipline, and leverage resources like Canva and Nature's Way Alive gummies for overall wellness.
    • Self-discipline is not about sacrifice but substitution and investment. It's a safety net for tasks, making them easier to do even when we don't feel like it. Focus on daily steps to strengthen self-discipline as a skill.
    • Identify specific reasons for long-term goals, make them actionable with a timeline and motivator.
    • Setting specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound goals, and being internally motivated, are key to maintaining self-discipline.
    • Adding accountability to goals through sharing progress or committing to a group can significantly enhance self-discipline and goal achievement due to social desirability bias.
    • Focus on micro habits, small everyday actions, to build self-discipline, overcome 'all or nothing' mindset, and make lasting lifestyle changes towards larger goals.
    • Neutrophil supports hair growth with a whole body approach, Intuit helps manage finances and build confidence, Nature's Way gummies promote overall health, and learning about dopamine and motivation can boost self-discipline.
    • Self-discipline leads to higher dopamine levels, but constant pleasure seeking decreases receptors. Balance short-term and long-term rewards for optimal dopamine use and goal achievement.
    • Delaying instant gratification for long-term happiness and self-control, shifting from learned helplessness to learned industriousness, and finding pleasure in the action can boost motivation and focus on goals.
    • Find joy in actions, not just outcomes. Reward self-discipline with kindness and self-compassion.
    • Self-discipline is essential for achieving goals and improving life. Use tools like Canva for presentations, protect teeth with Pronamel, and stay committed to personal growth with Nature's Way multivitamins.
    • Easily support skin and nail health with 2 daily gummies of Nature's Way Alive women's multivitamin, save 10% with code 'Gemma 10' through June 30th

    📝 Podcast Summary

    Caring for Health and Wealth in Your 20s

    Taking care of our health, both physical and financial, is essential in our 20s. For our oral health, using Pronamel toothpaste and mouthwash can help repair acid-weakened enamel. For our financial health, Intuit's financial platform provides tools to help manage money, whether for personal use or running a small business. Additionally, building self-discipline is crucial for achieving goals, but it doesn't mean striving for perfection. Instead, it's about developing healthy habits and using resources like Canva for quick presentations and Nature's Way Alive women's multivitamin gummies for overall wellness. Remember, self-discipline is a valuable tool for success in various domains, and it's never too late to start building it.

    The importance of self-discipline and consistency

    Self-discipline and consistency are essential for achieving our goals, despite common beliefs that making mistakes or experiencing setbacks are signs of failure. Self-discipline is not about sacrifice but rather about substitution and investment in ourselves. The belief that self-discipline requires constant struggle is incorrect, and relying solely on motivation and inspiration can be more draining. Instead, self-discipline provides a safety net, making tasks easier to do even when we don't feel like it. We mostly need self-discipline for habits and routines that lead to better outcomes, even if they are harder alternatives. Focusing only on the end goal without considering the daily steps required can lead to disappointment. Self-discipline is a skill that can be strengthened over time with consistency.

    Understanding motivations for self-discipline

    Building self-discipline and commitment to long-term goals involves understanding the psychology behind what motivates us. Setting vague goals like "I want to be healthier" or "I want to be more focused" is not enough to build self-discipline. Instead, we need to identify the specific reasons why we want to achieve these goals and make them actionable by adding a timeline and a motivator. According to the speaker, self-discipline is created through detail, and understanding our motivations is the first step in creating a clear and actionable goal. By examining behavioral change theory, we can identify what motivates us towards a goal, whether it's a sense of accomplishment, a desire to impress others or ourselves, or a need to improve our lives. Adding a timeline and a motivator to our goals makes them more actionable and helps us stay committed to them.

    Smart goals and internal motivation fuel self-discipline

    Self-discipline is essential for achieving goals, and it is fueled by smart goals and internal motivation. Smart goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant to your mission, and have a timeframe. Internal motivation comes from wanting to accomplish something for yourself, rather than for external reasons like pleasing others or avoiding punishment. To maintain self-discipline, it's crucial to remember your "why" - the reason you set the goal. This helps reinforce the value and achievability of the goal. Techniques like creating a vision board, consuming related content, and sharing your goal with others can help keep your motivation strong. Additionally, enlisting social support or accountability can leverage our natural desire to make others happy and help keep you on track.

    Leveraging social accountability for self-discipline and goal achievement

    Social accountability can significantly enhance self-discipline and goal achievement. When we add accountability to our goals, whether it's through sharing our progress with others or committing to a group, we are more likely to follow through and stay disciplined. This is due in part to the social desirability bias, which motivates us to behave in ways that make us appear good to others. By leveraging this bias, we can create accountability structures that make our goals more enjoyable and increase our commitment to achieving them. Whether it's sharing our to-do lists with colleagues, committing to a regular running group, or working on a creative project with a partner, social accountability can help us build solid routines and stay disciplined in the pursuit of our goals.

    Build self-discipline with small commitments

    Forming and keeping small commitments, like weekly activities with friends or simple daily habits, can help build self-discipline and create lasting lifestyle changes towards achieving larger goals. Micro habits, which are small, everyday actions, are an effective strategy to overcome the "all or nothing" mindset and make significant improvements without feeling overwhelmed. By focusing on these manageable tasks, one can build momentum and avoid the pitfalls of quitting after reaching a goal. Consider implementing three specific and easy micro habits each week to aid in achieving your larger objectives. Remember, small steps lead to big progress.

    Effective solutions for hair thinning and financial anxiety

    For those seeking solutions for hair thinning or financial anxiety, there are effective options available. Neutrophil, a hair growth supplement, addresses the root causes of hair issues with its whole body approach. With Neutrophil, people can experience thicker, stronger, faster growing hair despite internal factors like stress and hormone fluctuations. Intuit, on the other hand, offers a financial platform that helps individuals manage their money and gain confidence in their financial situation, whether they're just starting out or running a small business. Both Neutrophil and Intuit provide valuable solutions to common struggles, offering tailored approaches to hair growth and financial management respectively. Additionally, Nature's Way Alive women's multivitamin gummies offer an easy way to support overall health and wellbeing with essential vitamins and minerals. Lastly, learning how to hack your brain and motivational systems using dopamine, a neurotransmitter crucial for motivational control, can help build self-discipline and drive you towards your larger ambitions.

    Maintaining Self-Discipline for Increased Dopamine and Fulfillment

    Self-discipline and delaying instant gratification can lead to increased dopamine levels and greater overall fulfillment. However, giving in to immediate temptations and seeking constant pleasure can lead to a decrease in dopamine receptors and a lower quality of pleasure. To maintain self-discipline, it's important to schedule rewards for yourself and create a balance between short-term and long-term dopamine hits. By managing your dopamine systems in this way, you can increase your ability to focus on long-term goals and experience greater satisfaction when you achieve them. It's not about completely denying yourself pleasure, but rather finding a balance that allows you to use dopamine effectively to meet your goals.

    Continuous reward schedule for long-term benefits

    Implementing a continuous reward schedule for achieving desired outcomes, such as good grades, can lead to increased self-control, happiness, and appreciation for pleasure. This concept encourages delaying instant gratification for long-term benefits, similar to being a responsible parent to your inner child. Additionally, shifting from a learned helplessness mindset to a learned industriousness mindset can help us enjoy and find pleasure in doing difficult tasks, rather than giving up due to perceived lack of control over outcomes. By focusing on the pleasure in the action itself, we can stay motivated and focused on our goals.

    Enjoy the process of self-discipline

    Developing self-discipline involves more than just setting and working towards goals. It's important to find enjoyment and fulfillment in the process itself, not just the end result. This can be achieved by rewarding ourselves for our actions, not just our outcomes, and by romanticizing the hard work and challenges we face. By shifting our mindset and seeing ourselves as hard workers, we can make self-discipline a valued part of our identity. However, it's also important to be kind to ourselves and allow for mistakes and failures, as self-discipline comes from a place of care and investment in ourselves, not self-hatred or shame. Remember, consistency is key, even if we're not perfect every day.

    The Power of Self-Discipline for Personal Growth

    Self-discipline is the key to achieving one's goals and improving one's life. The speaker expressed admiration for the listener's commitment to personal growth and encouraged them to continue on their journey. He emphasized the importance of self-discipline, which he considered the master key to unlocking one's desires. The speaker also recommended the use of Pronamel toothpaste and mouthwash to protect one's teeth and mentioned upcoming events at Walmart celebrating Black History Month. Additionally, he shared his personal experience using Canva presentations to quickly create professional slides for work. Lastly, he highlighted Nature's Way Alive Women's Multivitamin Gummies as a sponsor product, specifically formulated for women's health. Overall, the episode emphasized the importance of self-improvement, the power of self-discipline, and the availability of tools and resources to make life easier.

    Support healthy skin and nails with Nature's Way Alive women's multivitamin gummies

    Nature's Way Alive women's multivitamin gummies can help support healthy skin and nails with just two delicious gummies a day. These gummies make it easy to feel like your best self every day. With the code "Gemma 10" at checkout, you can even save 10% on any alive women's multivitamins through June 30th. This is a simple and tasty solution for women looking to supplement their diet and promote overall wellness. By incorporating these gummies into your daily routine, you can help support the health of your skin and nails, making you feel more confident and radiant. So, if you're looking for a convenient and effective way to boost your health and beauty, consider giving Nature's Way Alive women's multivitamin gummies a try. For more information, visit naturesway.com/Gemma10.

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