There are a huge number of methods of self-improvement, programs for weight loss, ways to improve performance and other amazing solutions to significantly improve your life. You may have already met some of them, but you did not feel the revolutionary changes that you expected. In fact, everything that you do is important. What matters is what you do today. What matters is what you do every day. Successful people simply perform actions that may look absolutely meaningless at the time of execution , but they repeat them again and again until they achieve the desired result due to the cumulative effect of their efforts. For you - exercises for the development of self-control .

Why is this so? It is not difficult to compile an endless list of external reasons because of which you could fail, but we will start with the basic principle of self-improvement.
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That is, the reason is that you lack self-control and willpower to comply with all the recommendations . Suppose we gather a team of the world's best scientists who will develop a perfect training and nutrition program, after which they will give it to twenty different overweight people, ideally optimizing for each particular case. We are sure that half of these people will fail the task.

The reason for failure is very simple, as is the solution of the problem, although it is not so easy to implement. It consists in developing a sufficient level of self-control and discipline, so that you can move forward, following the established program exactly. Self-control allows you to withstand emotional stress and act at the moment, and not wait for the right circumstances.

Many solutions have already been invented to improve such components of your life as health, relationships and well-being, they are often offered at a very affordable price or for free at all. But, we repeat, success is not determined by the correctness of the program, but by your ability to consistently and consistently follow all the rules.

Jeff Olson, in his terrific book called The Fine Line, said something that definitely deserves your attention:

In fact, everything that you do is important. What matters is what you do today. What matters is what you do every day. Successful people simply perform actions that may look absolutely meaningless at the time of execution, but they repeat them again and again until they achieve the desired result due to the cumulative effect of their efforts ...

The word self-control is not mentioned even once, although it is an integral part of this quotation. You will not learn self-discipline unless you start eating healthy food today. You will be able to master the necessary skills by repeating the same actions over and over, as a result you will even love it. You will succeed, you only need to see the long-term benefit that you feel due to the cumulative effect.

Exercises for the development of self-control

Go to bed according to the schedule

Sleep is of great importance to your success. Simply put, if you do not charge the batteries in time, you will not be able to expect a performance above average. The author of the article necessarily sleeps 8–9 hours a day (although this is a private matter for everyone and depends on how much the body requires). The order is not intended to make you live strictly according to the clock. Rather, it is needed for the preparation of a certain plan, which you should try to follow 80% of your time.

Sleeping at a specific time is necessary not for self-discipline, but to ensure that you receive enough energy to ensure the productivity and vigorous well-being needed to complete the tasks referred to in this article.

Make the bed immediately after lifting.

This is a very simple and easy to implement habit, which, however, is of great importance. Everything is very simple: as soon as you get up, immediately put your bed in order. Do not check the messages in the phone, do not open your laptop and do not go to the kitchen. Just make a bed. The point is to develop the habit of daily performing this simple procedure.

Having made your bed, you subconsciously convince yourself that the rest period is over and it is time to start a new day.
Putting the bed in order is one of the little habits that after a while will merge into one and make you a disciplined person. More about good morning habits here .

Meditate

Self-control is born in the head, and meditation is the best exercise to strengthen your mind. But do not worry, you will not have to sit for hours in the lotus position, like Tibetan monks.

One of the beneficial properties of meditation is to improve self-control and ability to concentrate. Every day we are confronted with a huge amount of distractions and temptations that imperceptibly knock us off course. Meditation improves self-awareness and awareness of the current situation, increasing the resistance to external interference.
If you have never meditated before, take a look at the excellent meditation courses that may be useful to you: A ten-day free trial course Headspace or Calm.com .

Plan your life

That is, make it a habit to draw up a to-do list for each day. It will not make your life dull or devoid of spontaneity. But thanks to this, you can actually move forward and achieve what you want. Less time to think, more action, more discipline - better results. If you just set a goal to write a book, you can forget about it. It is impossible to write a book in one breath, this is unlikely to even come to someone's head.

On the other hand, if you break a big goal into simple tasks, for example, writing every morning immediately after getting up for 30 minutes, you will soon notice that you are rather quickly approaching the realization of your plans.

Once again, the ability to perform scheduled tasks requires a sensible, conscious approach. If you never thought seriously about your physical condition, but on the New Year's Eve promised that you will train five times a week, it is very unlikely that you will keep your word. Such a step requires tremendous self-control and discipline. You need to find the right balance between ambition and a realistic outlook on life .

If you are still reading, we are sure that you have already set yourself dozens of goals that you are trying to achieve. Suppose you decide to learn the Java language in order to learn how to create programs for Android and get a good position or develop a profitable application. But you have no idea about Java, but there are many responsibilities, for example, to go to work or feed the dog.

Currently, the author of the article works from 9 am to 5 pm, works out in the gym and performs a huge number of duties, since he is alone in a foreign city 1500 km away from home. Nevertheless, he is still able to work on his personal tasks, and this gives him pleasure.

This requires aligning your life with needs. For example, the author usually devotes 30 minutes from his working break to writing articles. You will very soon become a disciplined person, if, despite the busy schedule, you try to achieve one more task, instead of leaving everything and go to the sofa (or - to social networks) .

Read more books

Whenever you read a good book, a door opens somewhere in the world to let in a little more light.

Vera Nazaryan

There are countless wonderful books that describe the concept of self-discipline and the basics of learning self-control.

But how to read all these books, if you have all day passes strictly on schedule? You can read on the way to work and back, which is quite an effective way to usefully spend this time. This gives at least one hour of reading five times a week.

You will get acquainted with many amazing works faster than you can imagine, and do not even need to sit in the library for hours. If you read 20 pages a day, in a year you will master more than 30 books ! And this is another little habit that helps improve self-discipline.

Keep fit

You should exercise regularly, be it weightlifting, running, yoga or tennis. If the huge health benefits are not weighty enough for you to start exercising regularly, we hope that you change your mind due to the positive effect of sports exercises on your ability to self-control.

Everyone had moments when different excuses were invented and there was a desire to relax and do something unhealthy instead of sticking to their training schedule. This is a very important point in which checking and strengthening of your habit of discipline takes place. You will surely succeed if, after returning home after a busy day at work or at school, you will still be able to slightly disperse your blood and release some amount of hormones of happiness. It's very simple, if you do not believe me, I hope you will be convinced by the words of Will Smith:

The key elements of life are running and reading. When you run, a small person appears inside you, who talks to you and complains: “Oh, I'm tired. My lungs will burst now. It hurts so much. I can not run any further. ” You want to quit everything. If you learn to win this person when you play sports. You will not give up when you face difficulties in life ...

In one workout you will not advance even a millimeter, there will be no unicorns and a rainbow in the sky. But the ability to force yourself to take another step is what makes you stop being a wimp .

Even when you feel the most tired person in the world, you need to force yourself to go to the gym. After a workout, you will increase self-esteem, a feeling that you can’t be stopped, and that’s what training for improving self-control is aimed at. To make you immune to your own weaknesses.

For efficiency, choose the type of exercise that you like best. Work as much as you can, but work wisely.

Reduce the amount of sugar in your diet

Sugar, salt and fat are used in the food industry to increase appetite. Food trade is a business just like any other, only in this case, in order to maximize profits, food magnates often neglect the harmful effects on health. You yourself are responsible for what is on your plate.

Why should reduce the amount of sugar? Just because it makes you overeat, and this is a clear sign of weak self-control. At first, as long as your body does not get rid of sugar, you will always want to eat something very sweet. Fortunately, in a few days it will pass, and you will learn to enjoy more simple and useful products.

Making changes to your diet is another way to improve self-control. But you will be much easier if you remove all the potential obstacles to which the next paragraph is dedicated.

Remove the temptations from your life

Self-discipline is nothing but a good habit that is repeated many times. However, in reality, each person has his own Achilles heel - the point at which bad tendencies are activated. Suicidal habits, leading to loss of control over themselves, are triggered by trigger mechanisms that you need to detect and eliminate.

It's hard to stop eating donuts for breakfast if you pass your favorite bakery on your way to work each morning. If you know that computer games can distract you from learning Java, remove them, and give the disks to someone. Improving self-control is not about giving up the chocolate bar on your desktop, but rather getting rid of chocolate in general.

Periodic post

In the modern world, food is no longer just a source of food and energy. It has become one of the types of entertainment. The problem is that while having fun with food, you can easily lose control of your plate and become its slave.
There are many diets that could help, but I would like to offer you a long-term solution that seemed most useful to me.

The idea of ​​a periodic post contradicts what most experts from the fitness industry say, recommending that they eat every 2.5–3 hours.

But do not panic, this method of food is not connected with starvation! There are different approaches, but the favorite for the author of the article is 16: 8. It includes a 16-hour fasting period, during which you consume only low-calorie drinks. You guessed correctly, 8 means an eight-hour window when you can eat.

Each time, during a periodic post, the author feels the following feelings:

• attention and clarity of mind sharply increase ;
• less eating and less hunger;
• the amount of adipose tissue decreases (if you are much higher than the daily calorie intake, do not expect miracles);
• there is a feeling of happiness.

There are many explanations for why a periodic post is so good for various aspects of our life. You will not only become more disciplined in terms of food (something that the vast majority of representatives of Western society are struggling with), but you will also feel great health benefits, about which there is enough information from all over the Internet.

Start taking a cold shower

Undoubtedly, this method can be called extreme. Ice water running down your body for several minutes is the best metaphor for short-term discomfort for long-term goals.

If you can wake up in the morning and take a very cold shower, although you would prefer to stay in a warm and cozy bed, then you will eventually be able to overcome other psychological obstacles. Taking a cold shower, you not only show physical endurance. Of course, the sensations can not be called the most pleasant in the world, but no harm. Your biggest enemy is hiding in your head. When your body starts to panic, the mind helps you overcome two minutes of discomfort.
You can not guarantee that after a month the ice water will seem warmer. She will remain icy. But the process itself will occur automatically, and the results will become apparent simply by helping you keep fit.

Plan your vacation

Accept the fact that we are not robots that can work endlessly with the same results. Regular breaks for recuperation will help you improve productivity and get more joy from the workflow. You will not die if you allow yourself to loosen control for a moment to enjoy a slice of cake and Netflix’s two-hour view, and it’s also a great way to recharge your batteries.

If you have been eating healthy food all week, eating a diet on Sunday will only make your diet more enjoyable and not at all worsen the results.

We appreciate the time you spent reading this article. Now it's time to take action and become an improved version of yourself.

PS We recommend another useful article on the work on yourself - 30 websites that will make you much more educated .

The author of the translation is Vyacheslav Davidenko, the founder of the TESTutor company.