Self discipline

3. Identify Obstacles
Now you need to identify the obstacles that you'll likely face when working toward
your goal, and devise a strategy for overcoming each one.
For instance, imagine that your goal is to read one leadership book a week to
enhance your skills. In the past, you've faced a number of obstacles in reaching this
goal. For example, when you find a book you like, it's hard to find time each night to
read. Between work, dinner, and the kids, your time is taken up until late in the
evening. And, you get distracted by messages coming in while you're reading.
Once you've identified obstacles, come up with a strategy to overcome each one. In
this example, you could do the following:
● Instead of going to a bookstore, spend an hour looking at leadership books
online. Find several that interest you, and that have good reviews. Order all
of them at once, and download them to an e-book reader or tablet, so that
you always have a book on hand to read.

---

● Find
more time in your day
to focus on reading. Perhaps you could read
during your lunch hour, or while you're waiting to pick your kids up from
school.
● Turn your phone off when you want to focus on reading.
Often our self-discipline crumbles because we haven't identified the
obstacles that we'll face achieving our goals, and we haven't developed
strategies to overcome them. When these obstacles show up, we're
unprepared to deal with them, and this shakes our resolve. Don't skip this
step!
4. Replace Old Habits
When we're developing self-discipline, we're often trying to break a bad habit and
replace it with something more productive. However, if that habit is tied into a certain
time of day or routine, breaking it can leave a hole. If we don't replace that habit with
something else, then its absence becomes even more noticeable.
A good example is if you're trying to stop yourself shopping online when you take a
break at work. This bad habit destroys your focus and attention, because you're
likely to be online for 20-30 minutes each time.
Once you have resolved to stop, identify a new behavior that you can engage in
when you need a quick break. Instead of online shopping, you could do some
stretches in your office, get a cup of coffee, or take a quick walk outside. These
behaviors will help support your goal and strengthen your self-discipline, instead of
leaving you with nothing to do on your break.