Discipline is the secret to success

A friend of mine is a busy brand strategist, marketing expert and influencer, so I asked her, how do you do this every single day? With all the ups and downs of life, does that not impact your mood or energy? She said that she has good and bad days like all of us and that she wakes up sometimes not in the mood to do anything. Then she said that discipline is her motivator and energy source.

Discipline keeps her going, despite all the external and internal factors. I recall one of her recent social media posts with a picture of a person working out at a gym and a quote under it that read: “Even if you are tired, do it tired.”

One of my kids asked me the other day: “How does fasting in Ramadan make us feel the hunger of the poor? I am not hungry, and I don’t feel anything.” I immediately replied by confirming his thoughts that fasting is not about feeling the hunger of the less fortunate; instead, more than anything else, it is about teaching us self-discipline.

It teaches us to commit to and respect a routine in our daily life that is different from our normal days. It teaches us that we cannot serve our desires just because we want to, and that we need to respect the ritual and abide by it. Sunrise and sunset control our daily rituals and routines, and we must respect many dos and don’ts during Ramadan, which require strong self-discipline.

Will Smith’s character Chris in the movie “The Pursuit of Happyness” said it best, in the scene where he is playing basketball with his son. He first tries to convince his son to stop playing because he believes he would never be good at it. But when his son gets upset, Chris realizes that he is not doing his son any good by putting him down. So he backtracks and says: “You got a dream, you got to protect it; people can’t do something themselves, they want to tell you can’t get it. You want something, go get it, period.”

Discipline is a muscle that gets in shape over time, so do not sweat trying to master it today. Just be sure it will get in shape with consistent effort. Here are some of my recommendations to develop self-discipline.

Be very clear about what you want

Having a sense of direction is rule zero because without that you will go in circles and not achieve anything. Please note that just saying you want to be rich is not a goal or a dream you want to chase because it is not specific. But if you say you want to have $20 million in cash in your bank account by age 40, then that is a clear objective that you can work toward.

Your life is your responsibility

Whatever happens to you, ups or downs, it is your responsibility and no one else’s. Having such a mindset will make you realize that you control your own life, you have the power, and since you have control, you can change it for the better.

Respect your values

Those are your compass and will act as your guardian angels to keep you focused and on track. Life is filled with distractions and temptations, and we will all be tempted and weakened at times, and that is OK.

Apply time management religiously

We all have 24 hours in our day, so people cannot say they do not have enough time. Manage your time, use apps or digital calendars, and lock everything into it. Even your meals and sleeping time should be logged in.

Do not give up

Be annoyingly persistent and keep going no matter what. Self-discipline gets easier with time, because once you make all the needed habits part of your daily routine, they become easier to adapt and more like mindless activities. But you need to stay the course until that happens.

Have an accountability friend

Ask a friend to act as your timekeeper, to monitor your progress and keep you on track — and vice versa, so you also act as his or her timekeeper.

Reward yourself

To stay motivated, reward yourself after completing every phase of your journey. Create small rewards that push you forward and keep you on your toes. Conversely, penalize yourself if you miss a deadline or get too lazy.

Finally, remember Jim Rohn’s saying: “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.”

• Rakan Tarabzoni is the chief operating officer of the FII Institute. He began his career in business management at Procter & Gamble. He later moved to Microsoft, then to the Public Investment Fund as head of corporate communications. Tarabzoni established a personal blog on self-development and growth in 2011 under his name www.RakanTarabzoni.com.