Preparation can ensure the best results from our efforts

When it comes to building our best lives, one of the most powerful tools we have is self-discipline. My Theory of 5 mentors and I believe the ability to put aside what might feel good now and harness our energy into constructive actions and behaviors is crucial in determining our future results.

And, by thinking ahead, we can boost the effects of our self-discipline in all areas of our lives. Paving the way to success allows us to “level-up” our self-discipline and build the daily, weekly, monthly and yearly habits that will pay off both in the short and long term.

Identify Goals and Potential Obstacles — While our plans may change as we move along our path to success, having clear, well-defined goals is essential for not only giving us direction but also allowing us to measure our progress. By planning ahead in this way, we can also discover some of the challenges we might face along the way.

By anticipating these hurdles, we can employ our self-discipline more effectively because we will have a better idea of what it will take to get to the next level. If we know how many calls we need to make a month to fill our sales pipeline to hit the number of vehicles we want to sell, we can break it down into calls per day. This way, we don’t have to use our self-discipline to dig deep; we just need to stay on schedule.

Remove Temptations — If you’re on a diet, either to lose weight or for other health considerations, it makes sense to not have foods in the house that might tempt you into eating what you know you shouldn’t. If it’s not there, you can’t eat it. While you might have to use self-discipline at a restaurant with friends or family, it won’t be a factor at home.

The same goes for the dealership. Are there people around us with poor attitudes and plenty of excuses about why they’re not making the sales they “deserve”? Avoiding these people and instead finding those with a growth mindset can help us avoid the temptation of negative thinking and use our energy more intelligently and effectively.

Be Accountable to Others — For most of us, it’s easier to skip an activity we might not want to do if we’re the only person in the equation. If we’re not disappointing anyone else, we can rationalize our inaction and promise ourselves to “do better tomorrow.” When someone is depending on us, or just taking notice of what we’re doing (or not doing), those excuses won’t bear weight.

If we work out with at the gym with a friend, we’re much more likely to make the effort if we know we’ll disappoint them by not showing up. It gives our self-discipline the lift we need to be there. At the dealership, if we’ve committed to partnering with another team member to role-play, study, critique or other activity that will build our skills, we’ll be letting them down if we don’t commit to what we’ve promised.

Recharge and Avoid Burnout — When deciding on a course of action, we need to take into account the scope of what we’re attempting to do. For short-term goals, it’s fine to put our heads down and grind out the work to hit our objectives. Other parts of our lives might take a back seat during these times. If we’re studying for an important test, for example, we’re not going to hang out with friends. Our self-discipline will see us through on our path to success.

For long-term goals, however, we need to realize that we will eventually burn through our self-discipline if we don’t structure our efforts properly. When building our careers, there are times where we’ll need to buckle down and get the work done, but we also need to make time for friends and family, as well as pastimes where we can relax and recharge. We can be ambitious and still have a family life. We can be driven and still enjoy a hobby. We’ll be more effective if we have a balance in our lives where we can refresh our self-discipline and keep our “why” in mind.

Self-discipline is like a muscle, where the more we use it, the stronger it becomes. By being smart about how we use it, we can develop this key attribute and get the best return for our energy.