Everyone has a few habits they wish they could overcome or change. This however, requires a certain degree of willpower and self-discipline. These two skills make a great difference in your life, bringing to the fore, inner strength, self mastery and decisiveness, which are vital for success and for personal growth.

The possession of willpower and self-discipline or their lack is a major factor leading to success or to failure, to taking action or to being lazy. This applies to major goals, and also to simple, everyday tasks.

These abilities are vital ingredients of success, both spiritual and material.

How many times you wanted to go for a walk, knowing how wonderful you feel afterwards, but due to laziness or lack of inner strength, you stayed at home and watched TV instead?
How many times have you tried to change your eating habits, stop smoking, or get up earlier in the morning, but you didn't possess enough inner strength and persistence?
Do you start things, but quit after a short while?

All this can be changed with a little willpower and self-discipline.

Let's examine these skills.
Willpower definitions:

The ability to control or reject unnecessary or harmful impulses.
the ability to arrive at a decision and follow it with perseverance, until its successful accomplishment.
It is the inner strength that enables you to refuse to indulge in unnecessary and useless habits.
It is inner power that enables you to overcome inner and external resistance and obstacles.
It is antidote to laziness and procrastination.

Self-discipline definitions:

It is the companion of willpower. It gives you with the stamina to persevere with whatever you do.
It is the strength to withstand physical, emotional and mental hardships and difficulties.
It stands for perseverance and tenacity.
It is the ability to reject immediate satisfaction, pleasure or comfort, in order to gain something better, but which requires effort and time.

With these skills, you have the option to choose your behavior and reactions, instead of being ruled by them. They make you feel more powerful and in charge of yourself.

There is a misconception in the public mind regarding willpower and self-discipline. It is erroneously believed that their development and use require a lot of mental and physical strain and effort. This is not true. You can develop them in a gradual, simple way, by practicing certain exercises, and even enjoy the process.
How to Strengthen Your Willpower and Self-Discipline

A simple and most efficient technique to strengthen these skills is by doing things, which you would rather avoid doing, due to laziness, procrastination, weakness, shyness, etc.

By carrying out such actions, in spite of your inner resistance you overcome your subconscious resistance.

As muscles get stronger by resisting the weight of barbells, so inner strength is attained by overcoming inner resistance.
Exercises

1) You are sitting in a bus or train and an old man or woman, or a pregnant lady walks in. Stand up and give up your seat, even if you prefer to stay seated. Act so, not just because it is polite, but because you are doing something that you are reluctant to do. This is an exercise in overcoming the resistance of your body, mind and feelings.

2) There are dishes in the sink that need washing, and you postpone washing them for later. Get up and wash them now. Do not let laziness control you. When you know that in this way, you are actually strengthening yourself, it becomes easier to take immediate action, despite laziness and the desire to procrastinate.

3) You come home from work and sit in front of the T.V., because you feel too lazy and too tired to take a shower first. Do not succumb to the desire to sit in front of the T.V, and go take a shower immediately.

4) Do you like your coffee with sugar? If you do, then for one whole week drink it without sugar. Do you drink three cups of coffee each day? If you do, then drink only two cups a day for one whole week. Such exercises prove to you that you can control or change your habits, and this inner strength.

5)Do you, like many others, like to read some unimportant gossip in the newspaper or magazine? Then for one whole week abstain from doing so. This might not be easy, but it's a good training. I am not telly you to do so indefinitely, but only one week.

6) If you have the choice of going up with the elevator or climbing the stairs, choose climbing the stairs. However, climb the stairs only if it's not a high storey and you are in good physical condition.

These are very simple exercises, which you can certainly do. Remember, the purpose of the exercises is to develop inner strength, not to make life difficult for you.

If you practice weight lifting, running or aerobics, you strengthen your muscles, and therefore, when you need to move or carry something heavy, you have the strength for it. By studying a foreign language, you will be able to speak it fluently when you are abroad.

It is the same with willpower and self-discipline. By strengthening them, you make them available for use, whenever you need them.

Willpower and self-discipline are vital for achieving success. They give you more control over your life, help you change and improve habits, and are essential for self improvement, spiritual growth and for meditation.I hereby present to you a book that will help you develop self discipline and will power

Check out here for more details about the book

http://nairamegashop.com/home/128-no-excuses-the-power-of-self-discipline.html

Nice one! OP, that was well articulated though with minor typos, but It's all good. Wish Education Section could be inundated with life changing topics like this and PEOPLE WOULD READ AND PRACTICE THEM. Cheers!

Kudos to you that was so excellent keep it up with you,i would like to buy the book cos there are some habits in my life I need to get in control of Nice topic shaaa

Nice one op. I would love to practice this steps and perhaps save myself from laziness

Nice post @ shutto thanks for opening this topic.......the book at a cool price,gonna give it a try

lovely thread. I'm so inspired !