How to Develop Self Discipline for Financial Success

vemuda.com - Every being on this planet wants to be successful. While success may mean different things to different people, it almost always is centered around money. Unless you’ve got a fairy godmother, being financially successful requires a lot of hard work, self-discipline and faith.

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Therefore, in today’s practical wisdom video, we will look at the different ways you can develop your self-discipline so that you can guarantee yourself a financially successful future. Now let’s begin, shall we?

14. Make a plan

The first step towards being self-disciplined is to always have a goal of what you want to achieve. Once you have the goal in mind, create a plan that will help you achieve that goal.

The plan needs to be very clear and elaborate. You could break up your plan into steps that show you the directions you're headed towards. Also, it's important to have timelines of when you should reach each point.

This way, you can know when you've been dragging the process along and how you can beat the deadline you set. Aside from making your daily plans and goals, you should also create a plan for your life.  

Get a clear picture on the kind of lifestyle you  wish to lead. Write it down. What house can you picture yourself in? What car or cars can you imagine driving? How much free time do you have and what do you do with it? Having all these goals written down will boost your motivation.  

Knowing exactly what you’re working towards is the best way to keep yourself focused and on track. 

13. Follow the plan

It’s no surprise that following the plan is the next step. I mean, it would be a little silly to take time and create a plan only to  completely ignore it! Your plan is the roadmap that will take you to your destination – i.e. the goal. For you to become self-disciplined, you must follow through with whatever plans you make.

Not only that, but you also have to make sure that you do it in the specified time. Otherwise, you're just building the habit of  procrastination, and we don't want to do that.

12. Stop making excuses

For some reason it’s easier to make excuses and walk away from our tasks than to actually sit down and get it done. Many times we know that the task is barely going to take us 30 minutes yet we still push it away from us.

But hey! We’re human  – we’re all out here trying our best. The next time you find yourself wandering away from your work, close your eyes and focus on your breath.  

Slowly breathe in and out and count your breaths till you reach ten. You’ll feel more relaxed and also, you’ll be brought back to what is important. Procrastination and excuses are a deadly combo, but it’s one you can most definitely beat.

11. Be realistic

A big mistake many of us make is that of being unrealistic. Sure, we want to achieve everything we can all at once, but it’s important to pace yourself. Having too much to do in a short time usually leads to burn out and a sense of failure.  

Avoiding this is so easy! Thoroughly analyse  your goals and come up with an approximation of how long each will take. You should also take into account any deadlines you need to follow.  

It’s better to only get one thing done in 5 hours to the best of your ability, than it is to half-heartedly get 10 things done in the same time.

10. Change your ways

Financial freedom requires ultimate discipline that very many people aim to achieve, but only a few get to enjoy.

First of all, you'll need to do thorough housekeeping. You'll need to go above and beyond and change almost everything you're doing right now. This ranges from the way you think and your perspective on life, all the way to your relationships.

We have a lot of baggage that holds us down from reaching our full potential, and  until we realize this, the narrative will remain the same. There is more to financial freedom  than just the actual thought of making money.  

Mere habits such as waking up late cost us a lot in our financial achievements and general affairs.  

When looking to achieve your dreams, change is inevitable, and you should prepare yourself for the graceful experience. Don't allow anyone to keep you stuck to your comfort zone; get busy and uncomfortable and achieve some financial goals. To sum this up, get used to the new you.

9. Make it a challenge

The easiest way to achieve self-discipline  toward financial success is by making it a challenge. Embrace the course and do your due diligence to get the job done.

You need to get comfortable with  challenges. As creatures of comfort, humans very strongly detest the idea of being challenged even though it is the very thing that will change us.

With each challenge you face, look at it as stepping stone – a step towards the financially successful version of you.

Once you get into the mind frame of putting in the work to make an achievement, then you have already completed half the race.

I have a question for you, have you ever  participated in a competition? If you have, you’ll usually get a rush of adrenalin and a  desire to win. That's the feeling you have to get when pursuing financial success.

This will get you to a place you didn't imagine because whatever obstacle you face along the way will be endured with zilch. Just try this simple change in perspective and fill us in on the accomplishments that will definitely follow suit after.

8. Reward yourself

Physiologist Ivan Pavlov is very well known for his positive reinforcement philosophy (refraining very hard right now from throwing in a joke about his dogs).  

The philosophy suggests that the more  someone is rewarded for a preferred behavior, the more they will do it. Applying this to yourself is a great way to keep you motivated!  

With each task you complete off you to-do list,  for every goal you achieve, give yourself a little reward to congratulate yourself. The reward can be anything you like – a shopping spree, a late-night Netflix binge, or even just a small bar of chocolate. 

In a way, you’re giving yourself a pat on the back for sticking to the plan and showing up for yourself every day.

7. Find your motivation

When you know exactly what you’re doing all of this for, you will do everything you can to get there. Staying motivated is the biggest superpower you can have.

This is why it is so important to know the exact specifics of your dreams and goals.  Ask any successful person what keeps them going, and they will pinpoint something VERY specific within a millisecond.

That’s what keeps them going. Even when you’re too scared to take a leap, the fire of motivation with push you and before you know it, you’ll be head-first diving into the new version of yourself.

6. Financial literacy

This one, although a little obvious, is something most people forget about. You need to be well educated about finances if you want to be financial successful.  

No world-famous doctor becomes that esteemed out of nowhere - they know their craft inside and out. The same applies here. To keep yourself above your peers, you need to know the ins and outs of the finance, so you know exactly what you’re doing.

The most important thing overall is to continue feeding your mind  – never let the growth mind-set disappear.

5. Set a budget and stick to it

Budgeting is financial literacy 101. Whether  you want to save money, invest, or spend, it is all contingent to your budget. If you’re old school, whip out a diary, grab a pen and a calculator and write out how much money you get each month.

Then add in columns for the different things you spend on – the obvious ones being rent, gas, and food. This will give you an idea of how much money to be going where.

Seeing as the first thing you did before anything else was make a plan and list out your financial goals, you can, with the help of a budget, determine just how much money will go where.

Having a budget and sticking to it is what sets apart finically successful individuals from those who aren’t.

4. Stay positive and ditch the shame

The idea of ‘mistakes’ is somewhat overrated in my opinion. If you’re asking me, I think it’s just a conspiracy cooked up to keep us stuck in our ways. You are meant to make mistakes! How else are you supposed to learn?  

Don’t let society demoralize or intimidate you  for messing up because while they’re booing you, you’re out here growing and succeeding. 

3. Stick with the right crowd

There’s a saying that, on average, we are a total sum of the 5 people we hang out with the most. Keeping this in mind, can you honestly say you’re satisfied with how your future looks?

Don’t feel bad for letting go of people who do not elevate you. Find a new crowd. You can do all the work and tick off all the tasks on your to-do list, but all of that will be useless if you continue to stick with people who do not believe you’ll make it.

The  bitter truth is that many people don’t like seeing those close to them succeed. So be wary of this and find a new group of people who not only have the same goals as you, but who are focused on their self-development just as much as you are.

2. Practice

The simplest and most cliché advice I've ever heard is probably practice makes perfect. Somehow no matter how many times we've heard it said, we haven't truly believed in its power.  

I'd like to remind you that the only way Christian Ronaldo became the best footballer is through practice. It didn't matter how many times he sucked at it. The point to note is that he showed up the next day and did his best. Until one day, he woke up, and when he showed up to practice, he realized that he could score a goal with his eyes closed.

This means that there is still hope for you to become self-disciplined in your financial success journey. Just don't lose hope yet since the last couple of times you set financial goals and didn't achieve them.  

Get back to your journal and redo the whole  process of setting a savings target and budget, and this time, try as hard as you can to stick to your numbers.Although cliché, practice truly does make perfect.  

Christian Ronaldo became the best footballer through practice. It didn’t matter how many times he messed up, he still showed up to prove himself worthy.

You need to practice the art of discipline. When it comes to finances, you need to  practice things like budgeting, saving, investing, and so on. Most important, however, you need to practice the habits the new and improved version of you embodies. And then, as if magically, you’ll be the person you once used to dream of.

1. Pick yourself back up

Lastly, you have to remember that you are human which means that you will make mistakes. Don't beat yourself up so much about the mistakes but use them as a reason to do better each time.  

In addition to building your self-discipline,  practicing this habit of picking yourself back up when you fall will teach you essential  lessons. Such as having your own back or as it is better-known, self-reliance. You'll no longer need reassurance from people that you can become rich.  

Also, you won't feel like quitting when you can no longer hear other people cheering you on. You are the only person who matters in your life; don’t  put yourself down by being your own worst enemy.

Well, thank you so much for watching, and  I hope you found this video both enjoyable and informative.  With that said, have a great day and see you in the next one.