How Self-Discipline Impacts Your Confidence

Photo by Jay Soundo on Unsplash

If you feel insecure about yourself, it can be because of lacking self-discipline.

What is self-discipline?

Self-discipline is your ability to follow through on your commitments regardless of whether it is convenient or not.

To be disciplined, you have to overcome your weaknesses and do difficult things. That requires looking past your short-term emotions to commit to long-term goals.

Confidence and self-discipline are closely linked

I used to be insecure, and it was first when I developed discipline that I started to feel confident. After some pretty challenging periods where I had to be disciplined, I realized that insecurity and discipline are closely linked. 

During this time, I wrote my bachelor’s while working full time and probably had to work more than 80 hours a week in some periods. I felt much more confident and secure for some reason while undergoing this regime.

When we are busy, there is no other choice than to act. We don’t have the same luxury to be indecisive, and insecurity doesn’t have the chance to manifest. You have probably heard the old saying:

“Idleness is the root of all evil.”

When we become idle, our discipline suffers, which opens up the door for many issues.

To a big extent, our sense of inner security comes down to whether we follow through on our commitments or not. If you follow through on what you tell yourself, you will feel secure and confident. Why? Because you have built a track record of doing what you tell yourself. The reason is that your brain basically keeps a tally of whether you follow through on your commitments or not.

On the other hand, if you only do what you tell sometimes, you can’t trust yourself. Your subconscious mind will know whether you are full of shit or not.

Can you feel secure about your future if you give up as soon as something gets a bit difficult? The answer is no.

If you always give up when things get challenging, you have built a track record of not being disciplined. Your subconscious mind will know this, and you will have mental limits as a result.

You cannot trust your ability to commit to anything if you aren’t willing to be disciplined. That has huge implications. This means that the outlook you have on the future depends on your ability to be disciplined!

Your positivity and the possibilities you can see going forward depend on your inner strength and ability to commit and follow through.

Whether you want to get a college degree, get fit, or build a business, there will be days when you aren’t motivated. Then, you have to rely on discipline to get things done. Without discipline, you cannot feel secure about your future or yourself.

You won’t know if you will be able to follow through on what you want if you are not willing to be disciplined. The result is that you will feel insecure.

Emotions wane and change all the time while self-discipline is constant. Self-discipline involves following through regardless of whether you feel like doing something or not. If you have to wait to be in the right mood to get something important done, I will not bet on your future, and no one else should either. 

Most likely, people will be able to tell by how you carry yourself as well and avoid wasting their time. Life is too short not to be disciplined. Pain is inevitable. Do what you know to be right!

Perhaps the biggest reason many people aren’t willing to be disciplined is that they try to avoid pain. It is impossible to escape from all painful situations. In many cases, pain will show up in a different form later if you avoid it.

For example, if you have been lazy for years and want to go to the gym, it will be painful in the beginning. Many people give up right then and there. 

The result is that pain will show up in the future in a different form. Obesity or a shorter life span are the consequences.

“We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.” -Jim Rohn.

If you don’t know for a fact whether you will go to the gym at 5 pm or not, you will feel uncertain. That is because you aren’t disciplined. 

All the small daily decisions we make manifest and impact our sense of security in our daily lives.

When you remove feelings from the equation and rely on following your own word, you will get inner security. Before that, it is not possible to be internally secure.

5 ways to build discipline:

1. Get friends to hold you accountable

2. Have goals you are working towards

3. Remind yourself of why you are doing something

4. Follow through on the small tasks you set for yourself everyday

5. Workout regularly. You can start small, but make a point of at least showing up.

If you don’t know if you will go to the gym, wake up at the right time, or do whatever you want, you will not feel secure. That will show up in your speaking patterns, how confident you are, how you carry yourself, and lastly, it impacts how other people treat you tremendously.

What would happen if you knew for a fact that you would go to the gym at 5 pm tomorrow? If there is no choice involved, you will do it anyway, and you will get in the best mood you can. 

When we remove choice from the equation and build discipline, we will become happier, and our outlook changes.

If you had any idea how much discipline impacts your financial outcomes, how other people treat you, and every aspect of your life, you would accept a bit more pain in your daily life right now and become more disciplined. Start now!

Don’t postpone things. Everything you do will show up in your self-esteem and how you carry yourself. If you are disciplined, it will show, and people will like you more. They will sense it in your demeanor.

“Through discipline comes freedom.” — Aristotle