Two things have just presented themselves to me in the last hour that both focused on self-discipline.  They came from two people who were trying to achieve goals and kept getting stuck.  While the areas are different, there is an overlap in the processes that bring the desired results.

Situation One: A teacher/real estate investor had bought another house (investment #8) and wanted to be in it before school started again in August.  What stood in her way was that she still didn’t have taxes done for 2006 & 2007, plus she was developing a new curriculum module for the school in the fall, her current house was in a complete state of disorganization and disarray, and the new house needed some remodeling before moving.  She asked me to coach her weekly through the summer to ensure that these goals were met.

Situation Two: A relative came to me with yet one more diet idea he was going to try.  This time it was back to the “Body for Life” book.  This person has spent most of his life unhappy with weight.  Although not by any means obese and involved through the years in quite a bit of physical training, he would like to be carrying around fewer pounds and is planning to work toward a half-marathon as well as tone and build muscle.

In situation one, should the present house not have been allowed to develop into such an albatross and should the taxes have been turned in on time?  In situation two, should the weight have been stable over the years instead of the constant reading of diet books and making new plans?  When the prevailing situation is frustration, self-castigation, and lower self-esteem because of a perceived notion of failure, then the answer has to be “yes.”

How do you begin to break this cycle of wanting something but failing to achieve it?  In both these cases, you can start by writing.  It’s simple yet powerful.  To see how that would work out:

Situation One: Build a “dream” schedule for the week that includes your top priorities.  You have to write it down or it will not happen.  Once you have created a balanced and reasonable outline of the week, bring that and a blank schedule with you.  Throughout each day, record what happens in blocks of time.  That night compare the two and see where the problems rose.  It’s one thing to write down goals, but you have to follow with the second part in order to find patterns and make changes in behavior.

Situation Two: Bill Phillips, the author of “Body for Life,” says to write down five goals you want to achieve over the next twelve weeks.  Then you have a daily schedule of workouts and routines to follow.

It is the same process for both of these.  If you want to make changes, start by writing things down.  Time and again it has been shown that super-achievers are the ones who set goals early, record them, and use those notes in their life planning.

The next step is building up that self-discipline muscle so that it becomes easier to accomplish the difficult things.  For an interesting study on predicting the achievers in life, read this research in the Australian Higher Education website.