Why Discipline Is So Important

Living in LA, I hear a lot about manifesting your dreams and the power of the law of attraction. To a certain extent, I’ve bought into it too. I’ll admit I love crystals and have my cards read from time to time. But after a certain point, the pragmatist in me keeps me grounded in reality. I’m a huge believer in being positive, setting intentions, and putting out energy that you want to receive. But I’m also a huge believer in hard work and discipline. The more books I’ve read, podcasts I’ve listened to, people I’ve spoken to – have all led me to the conclusion that there are no secrets or shortcuts to success. Believing in yourself is important. Visualizing success can help too! But there’s no getting around putting in the actual work itself. Looking at successful people you realize they have a lot of things in common.

Common habits among highly successful people include:

Waking up early, working out regularly, avoiding alcohol, and meditation. The common thread here? Discipline. It takes discipline to do any one of those things, much less all of them. Taking a lot of inspiration from female entrepreneurs and other high profile individuals, I really wanted to learn how I could also become more productive and maximize my potential. The answer to a lot of my problems was finding ways to be more disciplined.

In my first job out of school, I struggled with my weight and body image as I traveled for work and ate horribly during the week, and would go out drinking with friends on the weekend. I made excuses that my body would never look the way I wanted to, because “genetically I wasn’t built that way.” Once I realized that I was making excuses for my laziness and unwillingness to sacrifice my social life for my physical health, I became determined to make a change. It wasn’t easy, but over the course of several years, I changed my routine drastically – I became a morning person, gradually started working out in the morning, and changing my diet. With a physical transformation also came one that was mental. I realized I was so much stronger than I previously thought, and capable of so much more.

The same pattern applied in so many other areas of my life

My social life, the friends I was making, my job, my blog. Complaining about “not having enough time” and wishing that my circumstances were different wouldn’t push me forward – but developing better habits, learning to prioritize things that mattered, and becoming more disciplined in how I spent my time did.

Once I accepted that a lot of things I was struggling with in my life came down to excuses I was making for myself, I found that I was able to actually make changes that led to results. It was through choosing the harder path that required more work that I was able to take steps that brought me closer to my goals and vision.

Being disciplined doesn’t have to mean being boring.

It really comes down to setting priorities for yourself and learning that you can do a lot, but you can’t do it all. It also means learning not to care what others think. A lot of people ask how I balance a demanding full time job with a blog and the answer, truthfully, is I don’t. I say no to a lot of social outings and blog events, and rarely go out anymore. It might sound boring to some, but quiet nights in and rising early in the morning have allowed me to focus on my health, a few quality relationships over quantity, change my career, and grow a side hobby into business.

Discipline also can exist in many different ways. But you have to put your mind to it and place energy and focus on developing it. I’m definitely a work in progress, but with each year that goes by I’m more committed than ever to continue growing. As always, thank you for following along and reading xx

dress: realisation par [I wear an XS in everything Realisation Par ]

bag: similar | shoes: similar