5 Tested Ways to Grow In Personal Discipline

I have written and spoken a fair bit on the subject of personal discipline. I’m still learning and seeking to grow in this non-negotiable pillar to living the God-intended life.

The undoing of some who have (had) a great calling of God on their lives is always a matter of discipline (or lack thereof).

However lofty your aspirations, the cultivation of personal discipline is inevitable.

From poor life management to bad life habits or secret sins, failure to master self can easily derail the pursuit of a life of purpose.

That’s why this statement by John Maxwell makes perfect sense:

“You cannot lead others effectively until you have conquered and led yourself.”

In this post, I share 5 practical, tried and tested ways we can commit ourselves to growing in personal discipline.

Live by higher priorities

Not everyone who is busy is doing the right things. And even when right is done, you may not have them in the right order. There are higher priorities.

Not everything that is important is urgent. And not everything that is urgent is value-adding. You must be intentional about your life choices // 5 Tested Ways to Grow In Personal Discipline Click To Tweet

Living and ordering your life by priority is so crucial. It begins with focusing your energy on things of eternal value and consequence.

That means God and His will must be uppermost in your esteem — Ephesians 5:15-17.

Learn the power of ‘NO’

You cannot be accepting of every suggestion, request and situation in your life. Sometimes, you need to say “NO!”

It may take courage to say ‘No’ to certain demands on your life. But that’s part of growth in personal discipline — 1 Corinthians 6:12, 9:27.

Some demands on your life are neither important nor urgent. Therefore, cultivate this principle to simplify your life:

If it adds no tangible value to me or others, discard it.

Take baby steps, consistently

The key to growth in personal discipline is consistency. And the first step toward consistency is starting. Until you start, you cannot finish or measure progress.

Grenville Kleiser said, “By constant self-disciple and self-control, you can develop greatness of character”

To stay consistent, you must be willing to take baby steps daily.

Identify one area of your life where discipline is a challenge. Define the corrective measures needed to fix it. Then begin to take simple, yet progressive steps to address the gaps in your life.

Quit procrastinating change. Start small. Start now. And stay consistent // 5 Tested Ways to Grow In Personal Discipline Click To Tweet

Be accountable to others

This is a big one. Lack of accountability continues to topple many gifted hands. And this is a danger many spiritual leaders (in particular) face.

With success comes the temptation to isolate yourself and see life through your own eyes alone.

But accountability is necessary on different levels. You must stay accountable privately to the Holy Spirit who has called you.

Then seek out trusted people in your life at various levels to hold you accountable to change.

But one level of accountability that is often overlooked is staying publicly accountable to those you lead.

Accountability focuses our hearts and minds on what really matters.

Pray earnestly

Prayer is indispensable as we seek to grow in personal discipline.

Life is war and the devil has many flaming darts. So you need every spiritual weapon available to fight a good fight — Galatians 5:22-24, Ephesians 6:10-18, 2 Timothy 4:7.

Pray daily, specifically and earnestly for grace to grow in personal discipline as you take corresponding practical steps.

Q: In which other practical ways can we grow in personal discipline? Leave a comment.

Photo by Sandie Clarke on Unsplash