New Year’s resolutions are here. Read this before committing.
By: Marina Notrima
Tags: Habits, Self Discipline, Goals, Resolutions, Focus

As the new year approaches it also brings the promise of new beginnings and exciting possibilities. Most people make New Year’s resolutions, but less than 10% stick to them. The reason behind it is that we tend to focus on an ideal vision of ourselves while having very little understanding of how to get there. In fact, the majority of our resolutions are about self-discipline. If you want to break your phone addiction, get in shape or quit smoking, you first need to understand the core ideas of building new habits and cultivating more effective self-control.

No self-discipline without focus.

Self-discipline isn’t simply about committing yourself to see a task through, it is much more about your ability to control your impulses in an attempt to remain focused on what needs to be done to successfully achieve that goal. If you aim to change deeply ingrained habits or add new ones, it will require a clear mental state. This is why it is so important to create the appropriate environment for yourself, mental and physical, where you can be focused on the task at hand without depleting your willpower. Let’s say that you aim to get fit but there is a cookie jar near your working desk. Even if you do not touch a single cookie, your brain will be exerting willpower throughout the day and you are less likely to work out in the evening. By identifying your discipline drainers you can design your working and living environment where you don’t need to rely on your willpower too much and will have it handy to perform more difficult tasks.

If you aim to change deeply ingrained habits or add new ones, it will require a clear mental state.

Self-discipline is a limited resource.

This is an important one and was a game-changer in my personal self-discipline journey. The theory is that self-control is just like a muscle that can be both strengthened and exhausted. This concept, known as ego depletion, occurs when we use up our available self-control on one task, which leaves us unable to exert the same level of self-control on other tasks. Why is this important? Because while you manage to stick to your morning runs and eat healthier, you may find yourself aimlessly refreshing your social media feed much more often. This is why it is advised to set fewer goals and split them into smaller tasks. Gradually, as you become more disciplined, your habits will change thanks to neuroplasticity, and you will be able to focus on more goals.

Self-control is also a tool, not just a goal.

One of the biggest mistakes people make is aiming to simply become more self-disciplined. We imagine this flawless human who faces any task with ease because she simply is disciplined. But self-discipline isn’t a goal in itself, it’s a journey and a tool that you can use to achieve your goals. If you don’t know what it is you’re waking up early for, then why do it? Set smaller goals and attach self-control tactics to them that will help you get there. Cultivating extreme self-discipline takes years, which is why aiming to become an entirely new you within just a few months is a recipe for disaster and is likely to leave you disappointed, or worst, feeling like a failure.