IN FLUENCE
Health & Wellness
5 A
LACKING SELF-DISCIPLINE?
WAYS TO DEVELOP
IT AND REACH
YOUR GOALS
nd achieving self-discipline – and the success that can come with it – may never have been harder than it is in this instant-gratification age, says Dr. Rob Carter III. “Self-discipline is an undervalued trait in a modern society that wants everything now,” says Carter, co-author with his wife, Dr. Kirti Salwe Carter, of The Morning Mind: Use Your Brain to Master Your Day and Supercharge Your Life. “Self-discipline is the ability to motivate and coordinate our efforts to improve our quality of life, but unfortunately most people are not taught it. “It is, however, a skill that everyone can learn. Self-discipline is the skill that will allow you to reach any goal you set.” Carter offers five ways to develop self-discipline:
1Be aware of your resistance.
Resistance, Carter says, is the
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AMERICANS ARE KNOWN TO OVEREAT, ABUSE CREDIT CARDS, MARINATE FOR HOURS IN SOCIAL MEDIA, AND BREAK NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS BEFORE THE END OF JANUARY. SELF-DISCIPLINE DOESN’T SEEM TO BE A NATIONAL STRENGTH. biggest obstacle to developing selfdiscipline, and it often comes in the form of discouraging internal selftalk such as, “I can’t do it” or “Why should I have to change?” “The next time you embark on a new project that causes resistance,” Carter says, “fight it by asserting or writing down your intended goal and the benefits it will bring.”
FLUENTIAL JULY / AUGUST 2019
2Plan
for every outcome. Plans go awry when people let excuses get in the way. “An example is having a goal of running in the morning for 30 minutes, but you have bailouts such as it’s raining, cold, or you don’t feel like it,” Carter says.