Sir Auditor UviesherheStaying disciplined in tough times is often easier said than done. However, it is a skill every human must learn because challenges are essential components of life.
Tough times can test your resolve and make it challenging to stay focused and disciplined, but that’s where we know if you have been truly working on yourself or if everything is just a fable.
Even the Bible says that if your strength fails in times of adversity, it means your strength is so little.
Another version says that your strength is too small if you fail in times of trouble or under pressure.
An African adage says, “We know the warrior during challenges.” In this sense, I’m not referring to a warrior who goes to war, but rather an individual who wins the battles of life, and the battles within himself.
Discipline is a key factor in winning this battle. Overcoming adversity and achieving long-term goals requires a great deal of discipline.
A simple way I define discipline is doing what you said you would do (regardless of the challenges that come your way). As the law of consistency says, “Motivation will get you started, but discipline will keep you going.”
Every individual who has achieved something great or worthwhile faces challenges.
And I can tell you for free that the higher the goal or task, the higher the challenges. And one thing about them is that they have learned to sail through the tide of challenges using discipline.
You can do the same too. You can learn how to stay disciplined even in tough times with the strategies discussed in this article.
How to Stay Disciplined in Tough Times
1. Revisit Your Why:
a. Define your purpose:
Myles Munroe once said, “Once the purpose of a thing is unknown, abuse is inevitable.” You need to spell out why you do what you do.
Why did you start your journey or goal in the first place? You need to ask yourself this question and write it out clearly.
But don’t just define it; you should reflect on it. The storms of life have overcome many people because they forgot their whys.
b. Keep reminders visible:
Use vision boards, quotes, or sticky notes to remind yourself of why you started the journey and where you are headed.
Most times, the journey might be filled with so much fog that we can’t get a glimpse of what the future looks like. Use these tools as daily motivation to take you closer to your goal.
c. Focus on the big picture:
Everything you do now should contribute to the future you are aiming for. What future are you looking forward to?
What goals do you want to achieve? Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?
But as you look at the big picture, ensure you take small, everyday actions that take you closer to the goal.
People often know what your future looks like by your actions today. What actions are you taking to bring your big picture to life?
2. Set Clear, Realistic Goals:
a. Break goals into smaller steps:
I know you have big goals and plans. But sometimes, big goals can make you feel overwhelmed. Instead of trying to achieve them all at once, divide them into manageable milestones.
If you have ever managed a project or worked with a project manager, you’ll realize every project has milestones.
This system was set up to track the progress and help everyone know what they must give to the project at every stage. Treat every goal like a project and break it into milestones.
b. Prioritize effectively:
You need to learn to focus on high-impact actions to stay disciplined in tough times. Not all actions are high-impact actions. The Pareto principle states that 20% of actions contribute to 80% of the results.
Ensure you focus on what moves the needle. Being under pressure will make you want to do everything you lay your hands on, but in that situation, keep your head straight.
Don’t just do every activity; engage in activities that move the needle. You can delegate other activities to people.
c. Adapt your goals if needed:
Your goals should be flexible. You should adjust timelines and expectations to suit current challenges. For example, let’s say you are a mini-importer who wants to make a certain amount of money in 6 months.
But while trying to import the goods, your logistics company imported some contraband goods alongside your goods. Now, they seized your goods alongside the goods.
Of course, your plan has been altered. You shouldn’t beat yourself up because you couldn’t achieve that goal in that timeframe. Just adjust the plan and try again.
3. Create a Structured Routine:
a. Stick to a daily schedule:
To stay disciplined during tough times, you should stick to a structured routine. Have specific times for work and rest.
b. Eliminate decision fatigue:
Plan meals, outfits, or tasks to avoid feeling overwhelmed and making unnecessary choices. You can have monthly, weekly, and even daily plans for your meals, outfits, and tasks.
c. Be flexible but consistent:
Like goal adaptation, you should allow room for adjustments. Many goals have gone to the land of no return because of a rigid routine.
While you want to maintain the overall structure, leave room for adjustments.
4. Cultivate a Positive Mindset:
a. Practice gratitude:
Tony Robbins once said, “Energy goes where attention goes.” Also, what you focus on expands. If you focus on your current challenges, you’ll keep attracting more of them.
It’s just how life is. Instead of worrying about your situation, there is always something to be grateful for. No matter how bad your problem is, there is something to be thankful for.
List three things you’re grateful for daily to shift focus away from your challenges. A good way to practice this is by writing it down.
b. Use affirmations:
If there’s something I have learned over the years, it’s the power of repetition. We become what we think about, see, and say most of the time.
You should create personalized affirmations to build self-belief and resilience. But don’t just create them for creating sake; repeat them to yourself daily.
c. Reframe setbacks:
Life is all about framing. Imagine I give you a cup and I fill it to the middle. If I tell you to describe the cup, you’ll say it is half empty or half full. It’s just perspective and framing.
At a leadership conference in 2022, two African leadership experts invited John C. Maxwell to an online event.
At the end of John’s speech, the leadership experts asked John how upcoming leaders could minimize failures and get more success.
One would have thought John would give a step-by-step process, but John blew everyone’s mind by recommending the opposite.
He mentioned that success and failure are two sides of the same coin. You need to fail to succeed. Failure is not what you face on the journey; it is part of it.
Success elevates you and makes you feel proud, but failure humbles you. No one is too big to fail.
5. Limit Distractions:
a. Identify your triggers:
To limit distractions, you should identify what derails your focus. It could be scrolling through social media, getting notifications, trying to multitask, etc.
Identify your triggers and find solutions to them. For example, if your trigger is getting notifications.
You can switch off your social media notifications. That way, you can work distraction-free even when your data is on.
b. Create a focused environment:
Keep your workspace organized and free of distractions. Ensure it is always clean and remove anything that could cause distractions.
c. Set boundaries:
You should inform your family, friends, or coworkers about your work schedules. Let them know that you don’t need interruptions if you are working.
That way, they will give you the space you need. You can check out a post I made on creating boundaries.
6. Prioritize Self-Care:
a. Take care of your physical health:
You don’t have to look at your problems. Prioritizing self-care is one of the ways you can stay disciplined in tough times.
Exercise, eat nutritious foods, and get enough sleep to maintain energy.
b. Schedule breaks:
Incorporate short pauses into your day to recharge yourself and avoid burnout.
c. Engage in activities you enjoy:
Most of the time, we often bury ourselves in work because of our challenges. But you can balance hard work with hobbies or relaxation techniques. Engage in activities you enjoy.
7. Build a Support System:
a. Lean on trusted people:
Truthfully, you can’t go through tough times alone. Carrying the burden all alone can be overwhelming. Share your struggles with friends, family, or mentors who can offer support and encouragement.
As they say, “A problem shared is half solved.” Talk with trusted people instead of bottling all your problems in your heart.
b. Join accountability groups:
One of the best ways to stay disciplined in tough times is to join accountability groups. You can partner with individuals who have similar goals to keep motivated.
More often than not, seeing someone facing the same issue as you or, even worse, going on to achieve their goals will inspire you to achieve yours.
c. Seek professional help:
You are not weak if you seek professional help. It simply means you are ready to be helped.
Les Brown once said, “Ask for help not because you are weak but because you want to remain strong. Ask for help and don’t stop until you get it.” Consult a coach, therapist, or counselor if needed.
8. Focus on One Day at a Time:
a. Take it step by step:
Trust me, I know there is much to do. You have a lot you want to accomplish but can’t achieve them all in one day.
Why not focus on what you can accomplish today? You can do tomorrow’s task tomorrow. Do today’s task today.
b. Celebrate small wins:
You need to build momentum to stay disciplined in tough times. There are different ways to build momentum, but one of the ways to do that is by celebrating small wins.
No matter how small that win is, acknowledge and celebrate your progress.
9. Learn from Tough Times:
a. Reflect on past challenges:
Think about how you’ve overcome difficulties before and see if there are patterns. Oftentimes, we don’t face new challenges.
They are just the same challenges wearing another mask. You can employ the same strategy you used to overcome your previous obstacles to overcome this too.
b. Identify lessons:
Every opportunity has lessons to help you grow and become a better person. Instead of seeing adversity as a cause, see it as an opportunity to grow stronger and wiser. Look for the lessons and use them.
10. Stay Flexible and Adaptable:
a. Embrace change:
Tough times require you to pivot and rethink your approach. Someone once said, “It’s insane to keep doing the same thing and expecting different results.”
Sometimes, you need to change your approach to life and business. Change is constant. Ensure you embrace change and adapt to the situation.
b. Keep an open mind:
Be willing to explore new methods or solutions to stay on track. Before Apple launched its first iPhone, it had an issue deciding how to unlock the phone.
They had questions like, “How do people unlock the touchscreen phone without doing it accidentally while in their pockets?”
It was an issue because they were about to revolutionize the smartphone industry, but they wanted to make it as simple as possible.
The answer came from an unexpected place. The lead engineer was actually in an airplane when he saw how the airplane door was opened.
Then, he thought they could use the swipe model to open the phone. He returned to the company and tested it with a 3-year-old, which worked.
The 3-year-old was able to unlock the phone. I told you this to explain the importance of keeping an open mind and seeing the solutions to your problem from unexpected places.
Conclusion on How to Stay Disciplined
Can you see how we simplified discipline? The beautiful part is that discipline is a skill that can be strengthened with practice.
Yes, it won’t be easy as you are going through a tough time, but staying disciplined has a lot of benefits.
It’s better to stay disciplined than give in to tough times. One of the best ways to handle difficult times is to remain disciplined.
You can use any strategies discussed in this article to build resilience and stay disciplined.
The more strategies, the better you will be able to handle rough times and stay disciplined.
Ensure you share this article with other people who would find it useful.
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