How to Build Self-Discipline to Achieve Your Health & Weight Loss Goals

People with a lot of self-discipline are a lot happier than other folks. According to research, people with the most control over themselves reported greater short-term happiness and quality of life overall.  Why is that? Because instead of constantly just saying no to themselves, people with greater self-discipline are just better at not putting themselves in situations where they’d have to make a bad choice.

What’s critical to know from that study I shared is that people are happier when they’re not faced with constantly having to make choices to not do something. Decision fatigue is the real deal my friend, and it can take you down if you have to make too many of them.  You know yourself and your weaknesses so why not get ahead of it by intentionally eliminating opportunities to make more decisions in your life?

The more you can make these little, gradual changes (and certainly not all at once), the more you’re building a new muscle of self-discipline.  Not only does this muscle bring you to your goals at a much faster pace, you’re also building that happiness factor, and let’s face it - that’s what we’re all looking for at the end of the day.

Think of this process as parenting your inner 4-year old.  Reward your good behavior and find ways to navigate the meltdowns.  If you get off track, don’t beat yourself up because you certainly wouldn’t do that to a 4-year old (I hope).

Instead, give yourself a conscious moment of recognizing where you went wrong and tell yourself to do better next time.  Or identify a way to change your environment so that doesn’t happen again.  Conversely, when you knock it out of the park with your awesome behaviors, have a reward that’s not a trigger for you.  Obviously, you wouldn't reward yourself with a plate of fries if you're celebrating that you nailed it with your nutrition all week.

Bottom line, this is the kind of work that separates the successful from the unsuccessful.  It’s not about working extra hard to be perfect or being born with unlimited self-control.  Forget that. It’s BS anyway.  Discipline is about being intentional with your choices, taking the time to be mindful of your weaknesses and actually doing something to address them rather than white-knuckling a change or berating yourself for not changing.

This is very doable stuff.  You just have to have to put your attention on it.

If this all sounds great, but you need more than a few solid articles to get you started on building a practice of discipline with your health, then I’ve got you covered.  I just launched a new behavior-based habit hacking program that focuses on the underlying habits that hold you back from having the body and health you really want. It's an easy-to-follow method, designed to help you develop the behaviors and mindset necessary to lose the weight and keep it off, once and for all.

• No diets
• No deprivation
• No calorie counting or measuring food.

Just tactical, doable steps that will help you:

• Reduce temptation
• Rethink what's on your plate
• Create a food strategy that works for you and your lifestyle.

Sound good to you?  Get the details here.