If you want to develop discipline, you’re already starting off in a stronger place than many. Understanding the impacts of discipline and wanting to obtain it are fantastic first steps that put you ahead of the game. Great! But what is discipline and how do you get it? With high discipline, things must come easier to you right? I mean… no more cheat meals, good sleep habits, great focus at work without distractions. Right? Not quite.
The Idea of Discipline
Put simply, discipline is the ability to do the thing that is best for you in the long term. Being able to avoid immediate gratification in favor of the eventual realization of your goal. It is consistency. It is habits.
So how do you develop discipline?
Unfortunately, all the current studies point to – it is not possible AND discipline isn’t a real thing. What the science seems to show is that people who come off as very disciplined are simply in an environment that makes that easier. Is someone disciplined about their sweets intake or are they simply around sweets less or used to saying no? The latter is what science is pointing to.
Then what is the point of this?
Okay so you can’t really grow discipline, but you CAN develop your environment. Over time that becomes habit and nature which builds on consistency.
There are 3 keys to behavior change that can lead to the same ‘develop discipline’ outcome.
The Three Components of Behavior Development
Interest
Do you really want the thing? What is the thing? To ensure there is a good path to your goal, you need to know what it is and be specific. ‘Look better’ would be a bad goal. ‘Lose 5 lbs of fat in 2 months’ would be a good one.
If you do not have real interest and clarity on what you want, luck is the main factor in getting to where you want to be. Let’s remove luck.
Interest is the simple one if you are trying to develop behaviors for yourself. It is more challenging when trying to help others.
Motivation
Great, you know what you want to do. If you have no reason to do it, then luck gets involved again.
Continuing with the ‘lose 5 lbs of fat in 2 months’ goal, why do you want that? Just because and would be nice are weak motivators. Guilt, an upcoming beach trip, or a friendly competition are all good ones.
If helping someone else, ensure you know why they are shooting for what they want. This lever is important to pull as a reminder and reset throughout the process.
Willingness
Great you know what you want and have a reason to want it. Now you need to be willing to work for it. If your willingness is too low, you won’t get any true benefit outside of luck.
Are you willing to go to the gym? Are you willing to eat one less snack each day? Will you send a picture of every meal you eat to a friend? Willing to write down your workout progress log? Willing to meet with a trainer? Figure out what you are willing to do and start that.
There is nuance here too. You do not need to be willing to go to the gym every day to lose 5 lbs of fat. You just need to be willing to do more than you are now and be willing to reevaluate down the road.
The goal is progress. Every step you take towards your goal makes the next one easier. Take them one at a time. You don’t need a full roadmap or to look at the finish line immediately. Doing so can overwhelm and lead to no action.
Putting it all together with examples
So no you cannot develop discipline to lose fat. You can build habits and an environment that supports it though. Over time, those become routine and you will realize your goals.
Like many truths, it is not sexy. It is simply the real answer to the question and if you take it seriously, I’d be shocked if you failed.
Examples:
Interest: Lose 5 lbs of fat in 2 months
Motivation: Upcoming beach party
Willingness: Add 30 minutes of treadmill each day before dinner
Interest: Get a raise in the next 9 months
Motivation: Upcoming addition to your family
Willingness: 10 minutes of personal-development courses each day during lunch break
Interest: Become a social media influencer
Motivation: Life-long passion ready to be chased
Willingness: Start prerecording content for a channel. One video per week.
Look at other psychology pieces like this here!
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