Master Self-Discipline (7 Tips - Less is more) #580

Ever wondered how discipline can be the game-changer in achieving your goals? In our latest episode, we promise to unravel the powerful connection between self-discipline, goal-setting, and achievement, inspired by the legendary Jim Rohn. I share my own trials and triumphs—playing rugby, diving into ultra running, and launching the Man That Can project—which taught me invaluable lessons on vision, patience, and meticulous planning. Discover the seven strategies that revolutionized my self-discipline, and gain insight into overcoming common pitfalls like lack of vision and over-commitment, with practical tips and an easy-to-follow action plan for your personal growth.

We also break down effective time management strategies that can turn your chaotic routine into a balanced and productive lifestyle. By structuring your day into 'me', 'them', and 'work' segments, you can maintain focus and avoid distractions. We delve into setting focused goals, starting with small tasks to build momentum, and creating an environment that facilitates your objectives. Plus, learn about the Strongman of Value Academy, which offers essential tools and weekly accountability to keep you on track. Subscribe to our newsletter and podcast for ongoing support and inspiration as you work towards becoming a more disciplined and fulfilled version of yourself.

Mentioned On Today's Show:
🤝 Why You Must Focus MORE on Fewer things
🤝 Self Discipline bridges the gap between goals & accomplishment

Learn How To Discover Who You Really Are, What You Want From Life & Where Your Fit In.

https://www.themanthatcanproject.com/selfdiscoverycourse

Transcript

Speaker 1: 1:00

Seven easy ways that I became more self-disciplined. Jim Rohn says discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment, and I have always desired to cross that metaphorical bridge in anything that I've decided to do. It's the whole purpose of why I would set a goal Now. I did it for that specific outcome. I wanted my life to mean something, and I believe that the meaning comes through pursuing my personal potential and adding as much value to other people's lives as I possibly can. Now.

Speaker 1: 1:31

When I played rugby, I wanted to do it for a living. When I started ultra running, I wanted to see how far I could push myself and do the possible hardest one that was available to me. When I started the man that Can project, I wanted to impact thousands of men's lives and make a million dollars per year. There was always an outcome, and when I married Amy, I wanted to, and still want to be the best possible husband. Ultimately, I want to provide for my family, build a great life's resume which is doing a lot of fun things, embracing new experiences and pursuing my interests. Life's too short to not do it otherwise. That's what I believe most importantly, and discipline is what's going to get us there. I know a lot of people struggle with discipline. They don't feel like they're disciplined enough to get up and go to the gym when they want to, to stay away from their grog when they want to, and, as a result, they're overweight, their marriage is falling apart and they just aren't happy in themselves or where their quality of life is. So what I'm going to share with you are these seven tips that have worked well for me. When you wait till the end, I'm going to help piece it all together and give you the most or the easiest action plan to implement these things, so you can start being a more disciplined version of yourself. So, as I said, I've set hundreds of goals in my life, as I'm sure you have as well, and a lot of the time. I set many of them because they sounded cool. You know. I thought people would want to spend more time around me. People would put me up on a pedestal because of what I was pursuing, not necessarily because it was what I wanted to pursue. I never thought about what was required to achieve many of these goals.

Speaker 1: 3:17

I lacked vision, patience, planning and skills. I failed time and time and time again and, as a result of the consistent failure and the wrong, I guess, idea or lens to view this through. I had plenty of doubt and for the most part, I didn't believe in myself. But because I was so stubborn and I really wanted to achieve my idea of success and pursue my potential, even though I wasn't aware that that was what I was initially pursuing, I kept going.

Speaker 1: 3:53

I had so many people in my life say, lockie, if you focused on just one thing, you'd probably do really well. Now that's like a backhanded compliment. I liked the idea of that. If I were to be able to focus, I could do really well. Now that's like a backhanded compliment. I liked the idea of that If I were to be able to focus, I could do really well. However, I was interested in so many things that I didn't really know what that one thing was. It was quite overwhelming and I remember thinking you know, I'll show you guys, I'll prove to you that I can do multiple things well. Prove to you that I can do multiple things well. And looking back, part of me now recognizes that this is playing long and enjoying the moment. A lot of people want those short wins within the moment to prove to people or get those pats on the back from people going.

Speaker 1: 4:38

I did what you told me I should do, not what I was necessarily interested in doing, and that, for me, was one of the reasons why I struggled with discipline was because I thought discipline would get me results in the short term, when, in a matter of fact, it just meant delayed. You know, doing the things when people were telling you you shouldn't do it, when it felt like it wasn't moving you in the right direction, even though you knew that were the actions you should be doing to move it down the line right To potentially delay that outcome for 12 months, for 12 weeks, for three years, et cetera. So I wasn't ready to hear the advice of people. I needed to figure it out on my own, much like maybe you do while you're listening to this video. The more I failed, the more I added to my plate. I thought that I wasn't getting a result because something was missing. There was either something I wasn't doing or something that I didn't know. I had to figure it out Soon enough.

Speaker 1: 5:35

My to-do list was a mile long and I didn't have time to stop. I was constantly on and when you're constantly on, or when I was constantly on, on and when you're constantly on, or when I was constantly on, I really struggled to have time to review, to stop and think and reflect on the results or the experiences and take away learnings and lessons to become more efficient. If you're just constantly trying things and not reviewing and reflecting, you're never going to be disciplined. You're never going to be able to go. What are the things that I need to focus on and invest in to become more disciplined on those things so that they deliver the outcome? So here we are. I got to a point where I was about 28. I couldn't provide, I was unhappy and I was frustrated. Why wasn't it working? Why wasn't I achieving the goals that I wanted?

Speaker 1: 6:24

So in this newsletter, I'm going to share with you what I've learned and the life-changing realizations that I've had. Now, if you're continuing to listen on to this, whichever platform before we dive into this, it would mean a ton. If you would take a moment to subscribe and to share these with someone that you know would gain value. If you're gaining insights from these and practical tools and knowledge, that's how you can help support me. That's all I ask. So let's get into it. So many people, or many of you, may have set similar goals. I have coached plenty who have achieved huge success, from publicly listed companies to beautiful families, to having incredible lifestyles. But I have spoken with even more men who have not achieved their goals and over the years, from my own experiences and thousands of conversations and coaching sessions I've had, my self-discipline has improved. And notice here self-discipline discipline within me, not the discipline that I'm telling or inspiring other people to have.

Speaker 1: 7:25

I used to think it was either something you were born with I'm a disciplined person or I'm not. It's black or white. It's not a skill that can be developed, but I've come to realize that I was wrong. The art of discipline is more than just discipline itself. Discipline in itself is finite, right, like most things.

Speaker 1: 7:43

You have a cup of water. Let's say this is a cup of discipline. At the moment, for those who are watching on YouTube, that's like just under half full. There's not much discipline left in this glass today, unless I top it up right, which is where we slow down. But discipline must be focused to work. So if I had to pour a little bit out every time I needed to flex discipline, I'm going to pour this into my coffee, which is probably going to dilute it and cool it down a little bit. But if I were to pour a little bit in there, you notice now my glass is a little bit more empty. So, as a result, I have less discipline for the rest of the day.

Speaker 1: 8:19

Now this is where it comes down to having intent and understanding where you want to be disciplined. So we are told we need to be disciplined to be successful and if we don't, we're screwed. And the truth is that's probably right. I agree with that. Where we need to get better is directing our discipline. What are the things that we need to be disciplined in that are going to help us build the life that we want? And the biggest breakthrough that I had in understanding this is not adding more to my plate, because adding more to my plate is adding more coffee cups to this water that I have to pour in. I can only give so much discipline to so many things.

Speaker 1: 8:58

So when I became clear that, no, I didn't need a new morning routine, I didn't need to get up earlier, I didn't need to work a 14-hour day. I needed to actually subtract. I needed focus. That focus on more, focus on fewer things, would allow me to be more disciplined and achieve better results. And when you're getting better results, the motivation continues to go through its ebbs and flows, but it remains more consistent. When I'm motivated meaning I want to do the thing, it's easier to be disciplined. That is what discipline is right Doing the things when you want to and doing the things when you don't want to. Right that is it, just doing those things.

Speaker 1: 9:38

So focus was giving undivided attention to the task at hand. My discipline skyrocketed. I didn't need to add, I needed to subtract. I had so many things I thought I needed to do that I lacked clarity, and when you lack clarity, it's hard to focus. And when you don't have focus, it's hard to know what you should be doing or what brings the results that you're looking for.

Speaker 1: 10:01

So I want to give you four easy steps to improve your self-discipline. But first I really want to show, I really want you to improve this. Please create a life's vision. If you don't have a vision for your life, the direction that you're wanting to go in from understanding, how would you love your health to be? What's that ideal health, the energy, the physique, how you look, how you move to the finances? How much money do you need to have in order to live the life that you want to eat the nice foods that you want to eat, and have those experiences, because when you work back from that, you can then go okay. These are the things that I need to focus on, the most important things Now. I need to be disciplined to do what's required to achieve that outcome, even when I don't feel like it.

Speaker 1: 10:48

Once again, we're pouring from the glass, but when you only have a few things to pour on or let's just say we're pouring that into a garden and you're watering the garden they will grow. And when they grow and you start seeing progress, you get more excited about doing those things because you believe and know that it's working for you. So it's not even four easy steps, it's seven easy steps. I've had a little spelling mistake on my reading there. I think I was going to start with four and then I eventually got to seven because I just kept thinking about it more. So the key is everything works backwards from that life's vision. You're going to have huge clarity. It'll make it easier for you to set the goals, develop the right skills and focus, and it is something that is often overlooked. It can be overwhelming even because people go life's vision that's just too big for me to think about.

Speaker 1: 11:39

When you start this, just keep it simple. Just say, man, I want to earn $100,000 a year. Let's work back from that. That's my life's vision at the moment and with that I want to have a beautiful wife and two kids. That's the relationship domain. I want to be able to have three weekends with my buddies every year. Okay, let's work back from that. And I want to feel good naked, look good naked and be able to run half marathons until I'm 80. Okay, let's work back from that. Now we can start developing habits and routines and be disciplined on those things to do it. So you can figure out and find out more about the building a vision for yourself through the self-discovery course which you can find on themanatcanprojectcom. Just go to the work with me and you'll see the self-discovery program there. It's 27 bucks, like great investment and ROI, and that will be significantly more than $27. I promise you that. So the seven easy steps to improve self-discipline that worked well for me are this Number one declutter, so review how you're spending your time.

Speaker 1: 12:44

Remember earlier I said I never allowed myself to review or to reflect. I was always adding, I was never subtracting. So list out all of the things that you're doing Like if you go through your calendar and if you use this and this will be in a future video around how I use my task management and my productivity system to really build an incredible life that when you look at all the tasks that you're doing and how you're spending your time, you will notice there are a lot of things that you shouldn't be doing. Warren Buffett has this method and I cannot remember it from the top of my head, but shouldn't be doing. Warren Buffett has this method and I cannot remember it from the top of my head, but he would say list out the 25 most important goals that you have right now. Now circle the top five. The goal then becomes to avoid the 20 things that you didn't circle because you feel like they're important and they will be the most challenging distractions to overcome. So once you've completed the five, then you can start looking at the rest of that list. But if you can avoid those 20 and really focus on the five and be disciplined to do what's required to be done, you will achieve a much better result. So when you have less to focus on, it's easier to be disciplined, trust me. So if you struggle with discipline, do less. Choose a few things and focus more on them.

Speaker 1: 14:00

So, personally, I break my day into three sections, right, the three sections being me, them and work. So what that looks like is the me time, and actually I want to give you a little bit more here. So for the segments of day, you can put them in any order, right what I've said. There is an order that is currently working for me. Most of the time it would probably go me work them, but you can work around with that. And then for timing, for those of you who are thinking around, how much time do I put in those areas? Once again, that needs to be a responsibility of yours, based on what you've got going on in your life. What I want to be transparent about is I'm on the road at the moment, which is challenging, but I don't have children and I'm living abroad. So how I set my day up may be different to you, and I really encourage you to.

Speaker 1: 14:52

If you were to just use those three areas, what's going to work well for you and what's the intent behind those areas? So for me, it's filling my cup, right, it's recharging, replenishing, so filling the coffee cup. It might be reading, it might be going for a walk, it may be doing anything that I enjoy doing, like hobby time, lucky time, and currently I'll wake up, I'll have my coffee, I will read, I will write, and then I'll listen to some new music, find some new music to learn about and really enjoy, and that fills my cup up, because when I have a full cup I have more to give For them. It's looking at my relationships. So investing in my marriage is very important, but then investing in my closest relationships, and then, obviously, work. Work is a simple one. We have an intent behind that for me growing a business. I have goals that I'm working towards and that's how I do that. So within those three baskets, there should be intent and there should be, I guess, habits that you're building within that that you need to be disciplined on in order to achieve the life's vision that we've set out. So if you break your time into those three days, if you notice there's not enough time for me, them or work, you can either remove things from those buckets or you can play around with the time. So that's what I would consider doing and I keep one goal for each and focus until it's completed. It's very easy to be disciplined when there's fewer things to focus on.

Speaker 1: 16:18

Number two start small. Discipline is a skill and requires you to build confidence within your ability. So find a small task to focus on and build that muscle to prove to yourself that you can be disciplined on the right things. This is why the famous task that a lot of people recommend in all the self-help books is make your bed first thing in the morning. If you're like me, who gets up super early and your wife gets up a little bit later, probably doesn't work. So for me, the thing that I want to do every morning is stretch. I don't necessarily enjoy stretching, but doing that is my version of making the bed right. So you could also look at doing 10 push-ups right for 10 minutes. Unpack the dishwasher. Just find something that you can keep your word with right. Even when you don't feel like doing it or you're tired, you've still got to get it done and you're flexing that muscle.

Speaker 1: 17:10

Number three remove friction. So when there's friction it's harder to do things. Think about sandpaper rubbing two pieces of sandpaper together. They grip and they're really hard to push past each other, as opposed to, I guess even worn out sandpaper, it slides past. So when there's friction within your environment, whether it's for me, an example would be podcasting.

Speaker 1: 17:35

Since I've been here, I don't have my studio Back home. It was so easy to podcast. I just walk in, push play. Cameras were set up. Let's go here. I'm either always traveling, we have to live in our one bedroom apartment, so I have to pack it up and set it down, so there's a lot more friction to going. Okay, I need to just record a quick 15 minute episode. It's a lot harder to do that. So how I could remove the friction is I had to hire a studio. I could leave it set up, which is what my wife and I have agreed we're doing for the time being, and then it makes it a lot easier for me to go okay, I'm just going to record a podcast. I don't have to move the furniture around. It's good to go.

Speaker 1: 18:15

Number four observe your environment. All environments give a vibe and come with pros and cons. So, depending on what your focus is, set up the space for focus and effectiveness. If you want to improve your health, build a healthy environment, so let's use the. Don't keep chocolate in the fridge if you're trying to be healthy. If you're like me and there's chocolate or there's Tim Tams in the fridge, I'm going to pound them. I'm going to eat the whole block. So I'm going to pound them, I'm going to eat the whole block. So if I know I'm trying to improve my health, for example, not keeping unhealthy things in the pantry or in the fridge is going to help me achieve that.

Speaker 1: 18:51

So, avoid distractions is number five. Once again, going back to the Warren Buffett thing, but list all the potential distractions in your life. So it could be your phone, but putting your phone on do not disturb. Okay, yeah, any of the distractions. Don't let them control you. So, yeah, it could be task management. It could be having a do not disturb sign on your office door or putting in music so people know that you're focused and you're busy and you're working on something. That's how I would avoid distractions.

Speaker 1: 19:22

Number six set clear goals and have an execution plan Obviously extremely important, as I said. When you've got fewer goals to focus on that deliver greater results and you have a plan to achieve that, you can be disciplined to do the things you know you should be doing. So it could be cold calling Most people when they first set a goal, they love to pick up the phone and start doing the sales, but then, after a few rejections, it's much harder, right, but the discipline is doing that. Picking up the phone even when you don't want to. Now finally find mentors and accountability. This is game-changing. Surround yourself with those who have the results that you want. They won't lead you astray. They will serve for accountability and remind you what's important to you.

Speaker 1: 20:02

I have the Strongman of Value Academy for this, and just a reminder at the time of recording this, applications are open until the 27th of June 2025. Every quarter we do an intake. So the purpose behind this is I get to set a goal, we have weekly accountability, I have focus and we learn about how to be more productive using our tools, whether it's task management, to-do lists, etc. So that I can really be more disciplined on the things that I want to achieve. So if you feel like you would get value, head over to themanthatcanprojectcom, go to the work with me, check out the Strongman of Value Academy and apply now, and you'll hear from me directly. But, as we know, the more disciplined you become, the more goals you will achieve and the better life you'll have. You'll improve your influence and once again, you'll be looking back on. I'm so grateful I developed those habits and I'm proud of the man that I am today.

Speaker 1: 20:57

I personally find avoiding distractions the hardest part, however, because I'm aware of them and I can acknowledge that I'm able to be more disciplined and more productive. Discipline is a skill. How I got there may be different to you, as I mentioned, but these steps are the ones that worked well for me and, if you like them, test them out for yourself. If they work for you, continue to do it. If they don't work for you, try something new, but the goal is still the same.

Speaker 1: 21:25

How do we become more disciplined to do the things we know we need to do, even when we don't feel like it, so we can build that better life? Cool, that's pretty much wrapping it up. So there are plenty of people who waste time doing things that are trending on social media but don't make their life better. I don't want you to be like them. If you got value from this and you want to continue being the best version of you, just make sure you subscribe to my newsletter or share this, and subscribe to the channel and the podcast, because you'll get to continue hearing more guest episodes and weekly coaching sessions with me. So be intentional, be disciplined, build a great life. My name is Lachlan Stewart and, as always, do something today to be better for tomorrow.