Discipline is freedom. You may disagree with this statement, and if you do you are certainly not alone. For many people discipline is a dirty word that is equated with the absence of freedom. In fact the opposite is true. As Stephen R. Covey once wrote, “the undisciplined are slaves to moods, appetites and passions”. And in the longer term, the undisciplined lack the freedom that comes with possessing particular skills and abilities - e.g. to play a musical instrument or speak a foreign language.

Self-discipline involves acting according to what you think instead of how you feel in the moment. Often it involves sacrificing the pleasure and thrill of the moment for what matters most in life. Therefore it is self-discipline that drives you to:

* Work on an idea or project after the initial rush of enthusiasm has faded away
* Go to the gym when all you want to do is lie on the couch and watch TV
* Wake early to work on yourself
* Say “no” when tempted to break your diet
* Only check your email a few of times per day at particular times

In the past self-discipline has been a weakness of mine, and as a result today I find myself lacking the ability to do a number of things which I would like - e.g. to play the guitar. But I have improved, and I can say that it is self-discipline that got me out of bed this morning at 5am to run and then write this article. Believe me, I would love to be curled up in bed right now, but this desire is subordinated by my inner sense of purpose.

If you struggle with self-discipline, the good news is that it can be developed. For example, it is only in the past two years that I have trained myself to wake early. The following are what I have found to be the five traits of self-discipline:

1. Self-Knowledge

Discipline means behaving according to what you have decided is best, regardless of how you feel in the moment. Therefore the first trait of discipline is self-knowledge. You need to decide what behavior best reflects your goals and values. This process requires introspection and self-analysis, and is most effective when tied to written expression. I highly recommend taking the time to write out your goals, dreams and ambitions. Even better, write out a personal mission statement. I found that writing such a statement gave me a greater understanding of who I am, what I am about and what I value. Dr. Covey has an excellent Mission Statement Builder on his site.

2. Conscious Awareness

Self-discipline depends upon conscious awareness as to both what you are doing and what you are not doing. Think about it. If you aren’t aware your behavior is undisciplined, how will you know to act otherwise?

As you begin to build self-discipline, you may catch yourself being in the act of being undisciplined - e.g. biting your nails, avoiding the gym, eating a piece of cake or checking your email constantly. Developing self-discipline takes time, and the key here is you are aware of your undisciplined behavior. With time this awareness will come earlier, meaning rather than catching yourself in the act of being undisciplined you will have awareness before you act in this way. This gives you the opportunity to make a decision that is in better alignment with your goals and values.

3. Commitment

It is not enough to simply write out your goals and values. You must make an internal commitment to them. Otherwise when your alarm clock goes off at 5am you will see no harm in hitting the snooze button for “just another 5 minutes….” Or, when initial rush of enthusiasm has faded away from a project you will struggle to see it through to completion.

If you struggle with commitment, start by making a conscious decision to follow through on what you say you’re going to do - both when you said you would do it and how you said you would do it. Then, I highly recommend putting in place a system to track these commitments. As the saying goes, “What gets measured gets improved”.

4. Courage

Did you notice the sweat dripping from the man in the picture at the start of this article? Make no mistake, self-discipline is often extremely difficult. Moods, appetites and passions can be powerful forces to go against. Therefore self-discipline is highly dependent on courage. Don’t pretend something is easy for you to do when it is in fact very difficult and/ or painful. Instead, find the courage to face this pain and difficulty. As you begin to accumulate small private victories, your self-confidence will grow and the courage that underpins self-discipline will come more naturally.

5. Internal Coaching

Self-talk is often harmful, but it can also be extremely beneficial if you have control of it. When you find yourself being tested, I suggest you talk to yourself, encourage yourself and reassure yourself. After all, it is self-talk that has the ability to remind you of your goals, call up courage, reinforce your commitment and keep you conscious of the task at hand. When I find my discipline being tested, I always recall the following quote: “The price of discipline is always less than the pain of regret”. Burn this quote into your memory, and recall in whenever you find yourself being tested. It may change your life.

纪律就是自由。你也许不同意这个说法而且很多人跟你想得一样。许多人认为纪律只不过是缺乏自由的比较隐讳的说法。而事实上正相反。正如Stephen R. Covey 曾经说过的那样：“无纪律的人是心情，欲望和情感的奴隶”。而且长此以往，无纪律的人会缺乏因为拥有某种特定技能而带来的自由，比如说可以演奏一种乐器或者轻松地说一门外语。

自律要求你三思而后行而不是头脑发热地凭感觉做事。所以为了真正重要的事情而牺牲暂时的快乐是常有的事。所以，正是自律激励你做下面的事：

*三分热度过后，你仍旧可以把某个想法或者项目往后推进直至完成；

*尽管你唯一的渴望就是躺在沙发上看电视，最后仍旧到健身房建身；

*早起健身做各种工作；

*放弃破坏节食的企图；

*每天只在特定时间收发电子邮件；

过去，自律可是我的一个弱项，结果，如今的我发现有很多我喜欢的事却没有能力去做，比如说弹吉他。但是，我已经有所进步了，而且就在今天，就是靠着自律，我5点就起床跑步了，然后还写了这篇文章。相信我，甚至是现在，我还是想蜷缩在床上休息呢，但是这个愿望跟我内心的目标相较而言是次要的了。

如果你正在和自律作斗争，好消息是情况会有所改管。拿我来说，我也不过是在2年以前才开始训练自己早起的。下面是我发现的有关自律的5个要点。

1。自我认识

纪律意味着不管你的感觉如何，你都要照着你经过思考后认为最好的那个方法去做。所以，自律的第一个要点就是自我认识。你必须确定哪种行为能够最好地反映出你的目标和价值。这个过程需要你进行自省和自我分析，而且最有效的办法是用笔写下来。我极力建议你花些时间把你的目标，梦想和抱负用笔写下来。如果你能够写个个人使命陈述书就更棒了。我发现这个陈述书能够让我更好地认识到我是谁，我是怎样一个人以及我的价值是什么。Covey博士在他的网站上就有关于他自己使命的完美陈述。

2。清醒的意识

自律取决于你能够清醒地意识到自己在做什么，没有在做什么。想一想，如果你都意识不到自己的行为是无纪律的，你又怎么能够知道你需要让自己的行为符合纪律呢？

当你开始自律的时候，你可能正处于行为无纪律状态，比如说咬指甲，逃避健身，违反节食去偷吃蛋糕或者不停地查收邮件。培养自律是需要时间的，这里的关键是你要对自己无纪律的行为有所意识。随着时间的延长，这种意识会提前，也就是说，在无纪律的行为发生之前，你就意识到了。这样，你就能够决定为了更好地实现自己的目标和价值，你不能这样做。

3。贯彻实施

单单把目标和价值写下来是不够的。你必须下决心切实贯彻。否则，早上5点闹铃响的时候，你会觉得按下“5分钟后再响一次”的按钮没什么大不了的。或者，当你对某个项目的三分钟热度消退的时候，你会陷入是否要完成这个项目的痛苦挣扎中。

如果你总是不能很好地贯彻实施，那么首先请做一个明确的决定：一定要把你说过的你要做的事完成，包括何时做，怎么做。然后，我强烈建议你建立一个系统跟踪实施的过程。不是有句话叫：“有检查才能有提高”么。

4。勇气

你注意到本文开始时，从照片中的男人身上滴下的那滴汗了么？别搞错了，自律通常来说可是极其困难的。心情，欲望和情感都可能是破坏自律的劲敌。所以，自律极其依赖于勇气。如果事实上某个事情对你来说是非常困难/或者痛苦的，那就别假装它很容易，而是要找到面对这些痛苦和困难的勇气。当你开始取得一点点胜利的时候，自信心就会增强而且当自律需要勇气时，勇气会自然到来。

5。自我训练

自言自语通常是有害的，但是如果你能够控制它，它可是极其有益的呢。如果你感觉自己在自律面前又有动摇时，我建议你跟自己说话，鼓励自己，确定自己的信心。自言自语可以提醒你自己的目标，唤起勇气，鼓励你贯彻实施，同时也时刻提醒你要完成的任务。每当我发现自己又在摇摆不定的时候，我总是回想这句话：“严守纪律的代价总是比悔恨的痛苦来得小得多”。把这句话烂熟于心，每当自己开始动摇的时候就想一想，它能够改变你的人生。