Written by: Amaya Ward-McCaskill
Published: December 10, 2024
Discipline is a word that many of us have heard since we were younger. As we progressed through elementary and transitioned into middle school we were tasked with additional responsibilities including more subjects, electives, and extracurriculars. These extracurriculars can vary from sports, to band or orchestra. Although these extra opportunities open up our world to more diverse and enriching experiences, it also means we have less time than we did when we were younger. As someone who is currently in the process of applying to graduate schools
learning how to build my schedule was incredibly important. To begin navigating applications, working full time, participating in my internship, and maintaining my social life was no easy task. However, one thing that motivated me and continues to help me today is self-discipline.
If there’s one thing I've learned about self-discipline as a concept it’s that it isn’t about striving for perfection or becoming a workaholic. Instead, self-discipline is synonymous to having a game plan for your life and sticking to it, even when you're tempted to binge-watch your favorite show or sleep through your alarms! The key to self-discipline is doing the things you need to do to reach the goals you have set, even when you don’t feel like doing those things.
Below are 4 tips to help you build self-discipline!
Start with small wins.
It's been important for me to develop the habit to slowly increase my ability to focus on a task. For example, if I know I need to work on applications I would start for just 20 minutes without distraction. Once I was able to master that I would increase the time from 20 to 30 minutes. I found that it was important to remind myself that I didn’t have to complete everything. This reminder was crucial in preventing me from becoming overwhelmed. By completing tasks in small chunks I was able to feel like I was still working towards something without overdoing it.
Write down your goals
Writing down my goals was super important. Oftentimes everything I need to do floats around in my head and begins to weigh me down. Writing out the tasks I needed to complete helped me see everything and begin to organize the order should complete certain tasks.
Reward yourself
When I’ve accomplished a major milestone in my application process it’s important for me to reward myself. I enjoy spending time with those close to me and or watching my favorite show or movie
Be kind to yourself
This one is still a work in progress for me. It’s important to know that whenever trying to implement something new you are inevitably going to mess up. The most important thing about self-discipline isn’t maintaining perfection but rather striving for resilience. Know that even when you make mistakes you can always bounce back. You will however, never reach your goals if you quit before you can get ahead.
With these 4 tips cultivating mindful practices around self-discipline won't just be a possibility but could easily become your new reality!
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