7 Ways to Gain Self Discipline and Strive Towards Greatness…

We’re a few weeks into the 2017, and right now is the most crucial time to stick to your goals. But it can also be the most difficult time.

So, if you feel like giving up — hold on and remember, it will get easier.

If you’ve started to get off course with your goals, here’s your opportunity to get back on track.

Check out these seven helpful tips to help you gain self discipline and reach success.

1. Commit to daily excellence.

Look at all of the successful people around you — whether it is a close family member, friend, or a celebrity you admire — and imagine how they think and go about their daily lives. You’ll notice something each of them have in common: a commitment to daily excellence, explains Entrepreneur contributor Matt Mayberry. No matter what you do for a living, it’s important to constantly strive for excellence every single day. If you do this on a daily basis, you may not see instant improvements but over time your hard work will become clear. Everything you do, you should do with all of your heart.

Read more: To Be an Extraordinary Achiever, Commit to Daily Excellence

2. Get enough sleep.

To be successful, have self control and build discipline, a simple solution is getting enough sleep. Most people think that sleep doesn’t have much effect on their work or mood, when in fact it’s a key factor. Create an effective sleep routine by going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, listening to soothing music and creating a comfortable environment, says contributor and content strategist Rehan Ijaz.

Read more: 3 Ways Entrepreneurs Can Make It Big by Getting Enough Sleep

3. Prioritize correctly.

Don’t get caught up in small, mundane tasks and make sure you’re prioritizing your tasks every day. To continue to strive toward your goals, “focus solely on themes that will drive growth,” says Entrepreneur contributor and co-founder of NerdWallet Jake Gibson. Forget about being perfect, do the hardest things first and focus on one thing at a time — these quick hacks will help you prioritize your days and your life better, this create more discipline and self-control.

Read more: First Things First: The 5 Secrets to Prioritization

4. Learn how to say ‘no.’

These two words are often the hardest to say, but it’s important to be able to politely say “no” to someone so you can avoid overloading yourself. “Any time someone asks you to do something, it’s important to take a step back and ask yourself — what value is this providing to me and/or my business?” says Michelle van Slyke, Entrepreneur contributor and VP of marketing and sales for The UPS Store.

If you take on more than you can handle, you risk losing sight of your vision and goals.

Read more: 3 Ways to Take Charge of Your Schedule

5. Forgive yourself.

There’s no reason to lose sleep over a silly mistake or a slip up. Instead of letting it drown you in guilt or regret, just learn from it and move on. If you let it hold you back, it will affect other aspects of your life and deter you from goals you’ve set. “Learn from the past but don’t dwell there,” one of our contributors and owner of Due.com John Rampton says. Use your negative experiences to learn and better yourself. Forgive yourself and any others who may have wronged you, move on and keep towards your goal.

Read more:: 8 Steps to Move Away From the Past You Need to Leave Behind

6. Learn to tolerate discomfort.

When you’re striving towards new goals, it’s not going to be easy, and it’s not always going to feel comfortable. In fact, it will likely feel uncomfortable — but it’s important you tolerate and even embrace these feelings of discomfort in order to grow. Stepping out of your comfort zone will help push you to do things you never thought you could. Plus, it will instill feelings of power, motivation and self discipline.

“A little discomfort can go a long way to help us learn, grow and change,” says Entrepreneur contributor psychologist Tasha Eurich. “When we experience new things, we create new neural pathways that kick start our creativity … In addition to making us creative geniuses, new experiences enhance our memory.”

Read more: Discomfort Is What You Feel When You’re Growing

7. Visualize success.

“Visualize your positive future and you’ll have an easier time reaching that peak performance,” says Entrepreneur contributor Matthew Toren. When you visualize success and the future you desire, your body and mind will be motivated to reach this place once it understand what it wants. Once you mentally picture yourself in certain scenarios, you’ll begin making decisions that will help you reach that place.

Read more: If You Envision It, It Will Come

Rose Leadem

Rose Leadem is an online editorial assistant at Entrepreneur Media Inc. 

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