Will Power: How To Improve Your Personal Self Discipline

Drawing Focus Pencil Concentration

People with higher self control and self discipline have been shown to be less likely to be obese, happier on average, score higher on standardized tests and earn more money. Self discipline is highly correlated with accomplishing personal goals.

What you may not know however, is that self discipline and willpower is a skill that can be exercised and improved. In this article I’ll discuss:

What I mean by self discipline
The benefits of self discipline (supported by research)
What affects self discipline (again, supported by research)
Finally, what you can do today to improve your own personal self discipline

Note: I’m always learning, so if you disagree or find fault with something, I’m open to revising the article.

What Is Self Discipline?

I searched online and found a number of definitions for self discipline, but my personal favorite is this:

Self discipline is the assertion of willpower over more base desires.

I love that definition, because it clears up a misconception that people often have – that self discipline or self control is all about denying ones desires. I disagree – it’s not about denying yourself at all. Self discipline is about freeing yourself from the shackles of base desires. My research on pleasure, analyzing where I waste time online and calling my time wasting weaknesses procrastination thumbscrews is a direct reflection of the way I see things – these base desires are what hold me back.

Constantly giving in to weaknesses holds me back from taking advantage of opportunities and achieving my dreams – and that is why I pride myself on my self discipline. To me, self discipline truly is the assertion of my willpower over my base desires – seeing past the short term so I can accomplish my goals long term. It is not a replacement for motivation – self discipline rather is an expression of my motivation.

Other names for self discipline include self control, self restraint and self regulation. I prefer self discipline, because I don’t like to think of myself as “controlled,” “restrained” or “regulated” towards my goals – I prefer to think of myself as “disciplined” and working towards them.

What Does The Research Show As Benefits of Self Discipline?

Higher scores on self-control correlated with:
- Higher grade point average
- Better adjustment (fewer reports of psychopathology)
- Higher self-esteem
- Less binge eating and alcohol abuse,
- Better relationships and interpersonal skills
  Source: PDF High Self-Control Predicts Good Adjustment, Less Pathology, Better Grades, and Interpersonal Success JP Tangney, RF Baumeister, AL Boone also on PubMed
More likely to be a healthy weight. Children who scored low on their ability to delay gratification were more likely to be obese years later (Abstract: Ability to Delay Gratification at Age 4 Years and Risk of Overweight at Age 11 Years Desiree M. Seeyave, MBBS ).
Having self control resources full is correlated with subjects being more honest, while depleted self control resources are correlated with higher instances of dishonesty, and subjects placing themselves in situations to be tempted (PDF Too tired to tell the truth: Self-control resource depletion and dishonesty Nicole L. Mead Roy F. Baumeister, Francesca Gino, Maurice E. Schweitzer, Dan Ariely)
Self discipline is important to financial success – in particular, self control problems impede wealth accumulation (PDF Measuring Self-Control John Ameriks, Andrew Caplin, John Leahy, and Tom Tyler. )
Self discipline is more important to academic success than a student’s IQ across a variety of metrics including final grades, hours spent on homework and attendance in class. (PDF: Self-Discipline Outdoes IQ in Predicting Academic Performance of Adolescents Angela L. Duckworth and Martin E.P. Seligman )
Delayed gratification is a very specific form of self discipline . After ten years, children who were able to better delay their gratification were:
- More academically competent
- More socially competent
- More able to cope with frustration
- More able to resist temptation (unsurprisingly)
- More verbally fluent
- More attentive
- Able to cope with stress more maturely
  Source: PDF Delay of Gratification in Children W Mischel, Y Shoda, ML Rodriguez

My empirical evidence also suggests that when I am better able to exercise self discipline, I accomplish more, and make much faster progress towards my goals.

What Does The Research Show As Affecting Self Discipline?

I reviewed a variety of literature, and these are the results that jumped out as most relevant to me. Based on these studies, we can then decide how to approach the problem – and steps we can take today to improve our self discipline.

Self-discipline is a psychological resource – and can be depleted. Subjects exercising self discipline on one task did worse than a control group when attempting to exercise self discipline on a second task (Mark Muraven, Dianne M. Tice, and Roy F. Baumeister, PDF Self-Control as Limited Resource: Regulatory Depletion Patterns ). As a resource:
- Self discipline is replenished by sleep, self affirmation exercises and positive emotional experiences (Google Books Preview: Handbook of self-regulation: research, theory, and applications By Roy F. Baumeister, Kathleen D. Vohs page 127 and also Abstract Restoring the self: Positive affect helps improve self-regulation following ego depletion by Dianne M. Tice)
- Stress depletes self discipline (Baumeister and Heatherton PDF Self Regulation Failure: An Overview)
- Depleted self discipline can be somewhat counteracted by having a plan on how to achieve your goal. (Abstract: Can implementation intentions help to overcome ego-depletion? by Thomas L. Webb and Paschal Sheeran)
Self-discipline is correlated with blood glucose. Actively engaging in acts of self discipline depletes glucose levels, while replenishing glucose in the body helps counteract the depletion of self discipline. ( PDF The Strength Model of Self Control Roy F. Baumeister, Kathleen D. Vohs, and Dianne M. Tice)
Self-control is like a muscle – it can be strengthened and improved (Journal Excerpt –
Longitudinal Improvement of Self-Regulation Through Practice: Building Self-Control Strength Through Repeated Exercise Mark Muraven, Roy F. Baumeister, Dianne M. Tice)

What Steps Can You Take Today To Improve Your Self Discipline

Don’t Unnecessarily Waste It: Remove Temptation. One of the best decisions I ever made was a zero tolerance policy towards chocolate, cookies, etc in my house. I’ve always had a weakness for desserts, and when I have them readily available, it’s a constant struggle to avoid them. By removing the temptation, I no longer have to expend any willpower on sugary snacks – and can better focus that reservoir towards other items.
Stabilize Blood Glucose. Low blood glucose is associated with diminished self discipline. One of the ways blood glucose levels drop is by consuming high glycemic foods – foods that quickly to glucose in your body. I’m going to oversimplify here, but briefly this causes a rush of glucose in your blood stream (a “sugar high” or “sugar rush”). Your body responds with insulin, which (oversimplifying) stores the glucose, and causes the level of glucose in your blood to plummet (the “sugar crash”). Avoiding these kinds of foods can help stabilize your blood sugar – and likely improve your self discipline. Of course, it’s a bit of a catch 22 – it takes self discipline to avoid eating tasty, sugary foods to begin with!
Remove Unwanted Stress. Easier said than done – and removing unwanted stress probably has many benefits outside of improved self discipline. You may not be able to immediately dump extra commitments, but I have an idea that just might work: I have friends who meditate daily to calm themselves, and though I was unable to find any research supporting meditation improving self discipline, it is possible that may help.
Sleep. Make sure you get enough of it. Like removing unwanted stress, this is likely easier said than done for some people. The best advice I can give here really is take a look at what’s urgent and important in your life – and try to carve out some time to sleep.
Enjoy Life. Positive emotional experiences appear to replenish your self discipline reserve. I love to take breaks and run, play guitar, hike and do other activities that inspire me – find what works for you.
Use Self Affirmations. Personally, I like using my start pages. I built them specifically so I could focus on a single thought and purpose. My favorite at the moment is value your time. Find your own mantra if none of those if for you, or shoot me an email and I’ll put one together to add to the list!
Have A Plan. I like to maintain a todo list, along with long term written goals. I definitely find that when I have a plan in place that I am executing, it is easier for me to stay motivated to complete the task than if I am just flailing around.
Long Term – Strengthen Your Self Discipline With Exercises. Self discipline is a muscle – focus on small tasks that you can control, and build up to bigger ones. Some examples of exercise include:
- Straightening your posture
- Using your non-dominant hand for tasks
- Regulating mood
- Monitoring and recording eating
  As a side note, I’ve noticed that when I’m more diligent about recording what I eat, I am also more diligent about working out. I don’t know the exact mechanism of why it works – I just know it does.

Final Thoughts – And Your Feedback

I really enjoyed writing this article, and if you have any information to add please let me know – I’d love to continue to build on this resource. I think self discipline is vital to success in any field, and is a large part of why I have been successful in many of the things I’ve tried – I continue to push forward and produce in spite of how I feel inside, or discouraging results. I’m not perfect though, and I still have a lot to learn.

I would love to hear your stories, and also any advice you may have.