Self-Discipline

Persisting Until You Reach Your Goals

Learn how to be more disciplined.

© iStockphoto/kupicoo

You can never conquer the mountain. You can only conquer yourself.
– Jim Whittaker, American mountaineer and CEO.

Marietta wakes up before dawn each morning to exercise. She works very efficiently in the office, ignoring distractions, and devoting all of her attention to high-value projects. In the evening, Marietta attends a class online; she'll be graduating in a few months with her MBA.

How can people like Marietta achieve so much, so consistently? And how can we accomplish as much in our personal lives and careers?

Part of the answer lies in self-discipline. This is what pushes us to deliver on our best intentions and goals, even when we don't feel like doing so. If we have self-discipline, we are able to put off short-term pleasure (or endure short-term inconvenience or discomfort) in the pursuit of long-term gain.

This is why self-discipline is so important. In this article, we'll examine what self-discipline actually is, we'll explore why it's useful, and we'll look at how to develop it.

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