Self Help

Your life’s blueprint is your master plan for success. Once you have created one, your aim will be to put that plan into action in order to achieve the results you want within the time frame you have set for yourself. But what if I told you that there are strategies you can use that will dramatically decrease the time it takes you to reach your dreams and goals? If you can increase your personal effectiveness, then it follows logically that you will accomplish more in less time.

I can state the first of these strategies in just one word: discipline. No matter how conscientiously you have created your life’s blueprint, you cannot hope to reach your dreams and goals unless you follow it. That takes discipline, which is a key ingredient to achieving success and essential to doubling your personal effectiveness.

You’ve probably said to yourself time and time again, “If only I had more discipline, then I could get more done.” The truth is, there is no such thing as a non-disciplined person.

Discipline is a choice, not a legacy. Discipline is not an innate human characteristic - something you were born with or without. To be disciplined or non-disciplined is a choice you make every minute and every hour of your life. Discipline is nothing more than the process of focusing on any chosen activity without interruption until that activity is complete. Discipline is something you do and not something you have. You therefore have the freedom to choose to act with discipline and decisiveness. To become what others refer to as a disciplined person requires only that you “do discipline” over and over as a conscious act until repetition makes discipline a subconscious habit. Doing discipline means that you choose not to allow fatigue or interruptions to become an excuse for inaction or a change of plan.

From the time we were small children, we were lectured about the virtues and importance of discipline, but no one ever seemed to define discipline, and our role models all too often did not act with discipline or focus. In reality, personal success requires both. Here are some facts that will help you zero in on the power of discipline.

* Discipline is the process of total time control.
* Discipline is the ability to stay focused on your chosen action path without detour, distraction, or interruption.
* Discipline is the ability to keep all agreements with your- self and with others, without blame, excuses, or caving in to obstacles.
* Discipline is the ability to show up on time, every time.
* Discipline is the ability to complete important personal or business projects on schedule, even on budget.
* Discipline is the power to keep going forward when everything around you seems to be pulling you back.

The result? Discipline generates trust and confidence in yourself, and attracts trust and confidence from others. Plus, discipline frees up hours of personal time each day, which can be invested in what you value most, such as family, health, peace of mind, and financial security.