Self-Discipline and Will Power



The possession of willpower and self-discipline or the lack, plays an important role in everyone's life. For example, you wish to go for a walk, knowing how good it is for your health and how wonderful you feel afterwards, but you feel too lazy and prefer to watch TV instead. You might be aware of the fact that you need to change your eating habits or stop smoking, but you don't have the inner power and persistence to change these habits. Does this sound familiar? How many times have you said, "I wish I had will power and self-discipline"? How many times have you started something, only to quit after a short while? We all have had experiences like these. Everyone has a few habits they wish they could get rid of, such as smoking, excessive eating, laziness, procrastination or lack of assertiveness. To overcome these habits or addictions, one needs a certain degree of willpower and self-discipline.

Will power is the ability to overcome laziness and procrastination. It is the ability to control or reject unnecessary or harmful impulses. It is the ability to arrive at a decision and follow it with perseverance until its successful accomplishment. It is the inner power that overcomes the desire to indulge in unnecessary and useless habits, and the inner strength that overcomes inner emotional and mental resistance for taking action. It is one of the corner stones of success, both spiritual and material.

Self-discipline is the companion of will power. It endows the one possessing it with the stamina to persevere in whatever he or she does. It bestows the ability to withstand hardships and difficulties, whether physical, emotional or mental. It grants the ability to withstand hardships and difficulties, whether physical, emotional or mental. It grants the ability to reject immediate satisfaction, in order to gain something better, which requires effort and time.

For a long time, I never really had very good Self-discipline and will power, especially when it came to food and my food choices. I remember many different times when I set goals to eat healthy, exercise and lose weight. I would attempt to go on a diet, and would do ok for the first week or so but then within a few weeks I would fall back into my old habits and would gain all of the weight back. I would then try again with different diets, but the results would still be the same. I could never really sustain momentum for long enough to reach my goal. I did not have enough discipline and will power.

Eventually, I realized that I am the only one that controls my thoughts and actions, and I am the boss of my own mind. I knew that if I was going to succeed, that I needed to possess more inner strength. I sat down and made a plan. First, I got rid of all of the junk food in my kitchen. Anything that I had a tendency to overeat, I replaced with healthier foods. Also, I had a very big problem with always wanting fast food. I decided to start pre-cooking a week's worth of food in advance each weekend. That way I always had something in the fridge. After I did these things I found that my environment dramatically changed for the better, which helped me to see results, which helped me gain more self-discipline and will power. I have become that girl at work that everyone says, "she has so much discipline and will power!" Which makes me feel really good!!