How to be discipline and consistency?
Hey, Sereca here. Welcome to today’s blog post. I’ll be answering the question “How do you gain discipline and consistency?” Keep reading to find out the answer to that question.
When it comes to being disciplined and being consistent, it really takes practice. You will need to overcome old habits that no longer serves you and will not take you to where you want to be in any area of your life.
Building discipline takes time, repetition, prayer and perseverance.
6 Steps To Build Self-Discipline
Step 1: Renew Your Mind
When I started out, I wanted to be disciplined until I looked up the definition and realized that I had the wrong concept. I learned that the goal is to be “self-disciplined” not “disciplined.” This can be clarified by the definition for each words.
Discipline means “the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience.”
Self-discipline means “the ability to control one's feelings and overcome one's weaknesses; the ability to pursue what one thinks is right despite temptations to abandon it.
These definition are taken form Google.com
To make step one practical, start saying I desire to be self-disciplined instead of I want to be disciplined.
Step 2: Control Your Emotions
Upon reflection, you’ll realized that the #1 reason you’re not consistent is because you lack self-control. You find yourself not doing a task because you don’t feel like it. This is something I struggle with the most so I understand.
One way am practicing to control my emotions is to do a task when I said I am going to do it whether I feel like it or not. By doing this I have learned that the devil will influence your emotions to make you feel like not doing a task or he will send attacks your way to get you down and when you’re done you don’t want to do anything except sit on your coach and watch TV, scroll on social media or take a nap. Having this understanding makes me push past my feelings and get things done even if I don’t feel like it.
Another thing I practice is to mortify the feeling to not do a task. Romans 8:13 says that in order for us to flourish, we need to “mortify the flesh.” Not doing what needs to be done when it needs to be done is the flesh “speaking” because the Holy Spirit would and will encourage you to be diligent in all that you do. Over the next 7 days, practice to “mortify” your flesh/feelings when it’s time to do a task but you just don’t feel like it.
Step 3: Have A Plan
On a daily basis, know what needs to be done and when it needs to be done. Put them on paper, don’t keep things stored in your head and rely on memory because your day will get hectic and you’ll forget. Having a to-do list makes it easy to keep up with your tasks and it also helps you to be productivity.
Step 4: Know Your Weaknesses
What always happen that causes you to not be consistent or practiced being self-disciplined? Make plans for them, put boundaries in place to help you overcome those habits and build new ones.
For example:
If you desire to read your Bible more how about replacing the habit of scrolling on your phone (first thing each morning) with reading your Bible. Ask the Holy Spirit to remind you to put down your phone and read your Bible each time He sees you on your scrolling. A good boundary would be to get a physical Bible instead of using the Bible app because it’s so each to scroll since your phone is already in your hand.
Step 5: Reward Yourself
If you’re like me, you’re very hard on yourself. You always see what you’re not doing right and pay no attention to what you did right. One way to change that is to celebrate when you get a task done. You can simply pause and tell your self you did a great job for getting that task done. Encourage yourself as if you were encouraging someone who is struggling with being self-disciplined and consistent.
Step 6: Pick Yourself Back Up
As you work on being more self-disciplined, you’ll become more aware of the days you failed than the days you where successful and easily identify when you didn’t get a task done as you should have.
When you don’t hit a goal, pick yourself back up immediately. Say something nice to yourself the same way you would to a friend. I started to practice this by not speaking harsh to myself when I find that I was scrolling on social media for the past 30 minutes or when I find that I didn’t completely a task I wanted to for the past two days.
I tell myself that it’s okay, I can do it now or I can out down the phone and do the task right away.
Give this a try.
At first it will feel uncomfortable but remind yourself that you are picking yourself up instead of putting yourself down. Overtime, this will become your new normal.
I want to leave you with this verse, Isaiah 1:19. This verse reads “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.” Let is be know that if you are willing to put these six steps into practice, you will “eat the good of the land.” Your “good” is getting things done, being self-disciplined and consistent.
I have a FREE 15 day Bible study that will help you build self-discipline and help you to build consistency when it comes to reading your Bible each day. Enter your best email HERE to get a free copy sent to your email.
My goal is to post a blog post every Wednesday for the next 90 days. With that being said (keep me accountable lol). I’ll see you next Wednesday,
Sereca
P.S.
Please share this blog post with tow of your girlfriends. My goal is to help Christian women get their life together and become the best version of themselves so that they can boldly and confidently walk in their God-given purpose. Thanks for making this possible by bringing awareness to my blog posts to a Sister in Christ. You will never know the blessings a simple share can bring.