It's easy to lose sight of what truly matters when temptations and distractions surround us. Sometimes, we all need a gentle nudge (or a hard push) to get back on track. Enter discipline — the cornerstone of personal growth and overall success in life. We've designed each section of our discipline quotes to offer you motivation in your pursuits. Whether striving to enhance your overall health, save for a well-deserved retirement, save the planet, or launch your business empire, these discipline quotes will guide you toward your goals.
What goes hand in hand with discipline? Focus! Head to our focus quotes after checking all our discipline quotes.
Quick links to our selection of discipline quotes:
Cultivating self-discipline is part of making meaningful strides in our personal growth. Instead of viewing discipline as a form of punishment, we should welcome it.
Developing healthy habits, setting realistic goals, and taking consistent action are all essential aspects of discipline. Through these, we can improve our self-awareness and growth mindset, which allows us to navigate life's obstacles. After all, personal growth isn't a walk in the park. Most of the time, we must muster the strength to push past our comfort zones.
Take a glimpse of your full potential as you read the first set of discipline quotes below.
"Self-respect is the fruit of discipline; the sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself."
"The secret of discipline is motivation. When a man is sufficiently motivated, discipline will take care of itself."
"By constant self-discipline and self-control, you can develop greatness of character."
"That aim in life is highest which requires the highest and finest discipline."
"A disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering."
"Self-discipline is a key to many doors. Not least of which is one that leads to a better, stronger, and healthier version of yourself."
"Self-control is the chief element in self-respect, and self-respect is the chief element in courage."
Do you entirely rely on motivation and slow down when it's gone? It's normal to find ourselves losing steam along the way after getting inspired to chase our dreams. When we get disappointed with the results or face distractions, discipline should step in to act as a reliable anchor, keeping us committed to our goals. By mastering its science, we're not only honing our ability to focus but also preparing ourselves to face setbacks head-on.
Fuel yourself with discipline every day as you read the following quotes below.
If you are consistently low on motivation and discipline, head to our mental health quotes for a mental health check.
"The discipline you enforce today determines the successes you'll enjoy tomorrow."
"Discipline yourself to do the things you need to do when you need to do them, and the day will come when you will be able to do the things you want to do when you want to do them!"
"Self-discipline is the ability to organize your behavior over time in the service of specific goals."
"Discipline not just determines success but determines how long you can stay successful."
"Discipline is the thing that makes you do what you might not want to, but you do it anyway because it’s what you have to do in order to get what you want or desire."
"Discipline and constant work are the whetstones upon which the dull knife of talent is honed until it becomes sharp enough, hopefully, to cut through even the toughest meat and gristle."
The road to success is anything but smooth. We will hit bumps, face setbacks, and maybe even get a little mud on our shoes. But that's where discipline comes in.
With consistency and commitment, we can still have the self-control to do what we must do. The key is starting small. For example, if you want to build an exercise habit, set a minimum of five minutes each morning. On bad days, you only need five minutes to move, but on days you're fired up, you can exceed the limit. At least five minutes, so easy!
Focusing on building discipline first rather than expecting a hundred percent of our goals is a more feasible way of reaching our targets. So stay consistent and committed as you read the following discipline quotes.
"Sustainable success is not built overnight. Real success is the result of consistent, sustained effort."
"The pain of discipline is short, but the glory of the fruition is eternal."
"The foundation of a strong self comes from small acts of daily discipline."
"It is time to reverse this prejudice against conscious effort and to see the powers we gain through practice and discipline as eminently inspiring and even miraculous."
"The successful person has the habit of doing the things failures don't like to do. They don't like doing them either necessarily. But their disliking is subordinated to the strength of their purpose."
"Success is created through the performance of a few small daily disciplines that stack up over time to produce achievements far beyond anything you could of ever planned for."
The discomfort that comes with discipline takes various forms, from the soreness of a workout to the emotional tug-of-war of resisting temptation.
But more than enduring pain, it also reveals the importance of delayed gratification. Have you heard of the Marshmallow Experiment? 16 years after the researchers tested children's delayed gratification, they made follow-up studies. The parents rated their kids as those who could wait longer to be more academically and socially competent and stress-tolerant3. The children were also good at stress management.
By resisting immediate pleasures for the sake of long-term rewards, we build the resilience and mental fortitude necessary for success in all facets of life. So practice delayed gratification after going over the following discipline quotes below.
"Self-discipline is the ability to make yourself do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not."
"There are only two pains in life, the pain of discipline or the pain of regret, and that discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons."
"There is no magic wand that can resolve our problems. The solution rests with our work and discipline."
"You will never have a greater or lesser dominion than that over yourself…the height of a man's success is gauged by his self-mastery; the depth of his failure by his self-abandonment. And this law is the expression of eternal justice. He who cannot establish dominion over himself will have no dominion over others."
"Self-discipline is when your conscience tells you to do something and you don’t talk back."
"Discipline imposed from the outside eventually defeats when it is not matched by desire from within."
Achieving financial freedom is no easy feat, and discipline is at this journey's heart. It's all about making conscious decisions and occasional sacrifices — in short, delayed gratification — to keep your eyes on the prize: long-term financial goals such as a comfortable retirement.
Financial discipline is a blend of resisting impulse buying, managing debt, sticking to a budget, and making smart investment choices. Confused about what to do first? Begin by saving $20 every payday. Again, the key is starting small!
Change your perspective toward money as you read the discipline quotes below.
"Self-discipline is the No.1 delineating factor between the rich, the middle class, and the poor."
"The first step to getting rich requires discipline. If you really want to be rich, you need to find the discipline."
"The great master key to riches is nothing more or less than the self-discipline necessary to help you take full and complete possession of your own mind."
"I believe that through knowledge and discipline, financial peace is possible for all of us."
"Success isn't measured by money or power or social rank. Success is measured by your discipline and inner peace."
"A person either disciplines his finances or his finances disciplines him."
In a world where harmful habits occur daily, it takes extreme discipline to initiate a healthy lifestyle. For many, we can think of exercise as a chore and diets as a form of punishment. However, it will eventually be effortless once we change our perspective.
Aside from starting small, a study revealed how incorporating fun contributes to our exercise habits1. For example, dance class or rock climbing. Meanwhile, for nutrition, we can create a healthier relationship toward food by following this simple advice from a registered dietitian nutritionist — add, not subtract. For instance, if you crave ice cream, top it with fruits and nuts.
Kick off your dream lifestyle by going through the discipline quotes below.
"When it comes to eating right and exercising, there is no ‘I’ll start tomorrow’."
"Keeping your body in shape is a spiritual discipline. It's not just about losing a few pounds, wanting to live longer, or trying to look nicer."
"You have to push past your perceived limits, push past that point you thought was as far as you can go."
"Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos—the trees, the clouds, everything."
"Once you have commitment, you need the discipline and hard work to get you there."
Ready to spend more than 40 hours a week building a business empire?
Let's face it. The entrepreneurial journey is a challenging ride. During these turbulent times, a healthy dose of discipline works wonders in being resilient. By fostering self-discipline, entrepreneurs are also more equipped to develop essential soft skills such as communication, critical thinking, and people management, ultimately driving their businesses forward.
If you want to shorten the journey, a study proves that taking entrepreneurship education is an effective launching pad for building a business empire2. For now, awaken your inner entrepreneur as you read the discipline quotes below.
And for more, click on to our entrepreneurship quotes to hear what others have to say about their own journeys from start-up through success stories.
"Self-discipline is what separates the winners and the losers."
"You have got to have discipline and focus – on the customer and how you run the business."
"Success is actually a short race – a sprint fueled by discipline just long enough for habit to kick in and take over."
"Failure's is nothing more than the inevitable outcome of a few small acts of daily neglect performed consistently over time so that they take you past the point of no return."
"If you don't drive your business, you will be driven out of business."
"Discipline is rarely enjoyable, but almost always profitable."
Motivational speakers possess a knack for conveying the importance of discipline in a powerful, relatable way. From Tony Robbins and Jim Rohn to Zig Ziglar, their words of wisdom resonate with people from all walks of life.
The insights from their books and talks provide a solid foundation for personal and professional growth. Moreover, always remember to apply what they have said because discipline does not begin with listening and reading inspirational talks but in action.
Take the following discipline quotes to heart by pushing yourself today.
"It’s been said that there are only two pains in life, the pain of discipline or the pain of regret, and that discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons."
"Self-discipline begins with the mastery of thought."
"Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment."
"Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude."
"Small disciplines repeated with consistency every day lead to great achievements gained slowly over time."
"Discipline is what you must have to resist the lure of excuses."
"Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day."
"For every disciplined effort there is a multiple reward."
"Discipline is built by consistently performing small acts of courage."
Sticking to discipline can feel as tough as nailing jelly to a tree in our fast-paced digital world. Social media, while a great source of entertainment and information, often morphs into a distraction factory that derails our focus.
But by actioning a few tweaks, we can have better self-control over our time on online platforms.
To start, we should change notification settings to remove the cue. Next, schedule and limit phone usage, avoiding morning routines and working hours. Finally, we should reward ourselves for every finished task with zero distractions. Familiar? This is an example of Charles Duhigg's habit loop from his book, The Power of Habit (here on Amazon).
Post the following discipline quotes before diving into your uninterrupted work.
"Most powerful is he who has himself in his own power."
"The price of excellence is discipline."
"Discipline is remembering what you want."
"Discipline is the refining fire by which talent becomes ability."
"True freedom is impossible without a mind made free by discipline."
"No man is such a conqueror, as the one that has defeated himself."
"True discipline is really just self-remembering; no forcing or fighting is necessary."
"Success is the sum of small efforts—repeated day in and day out."
"Self-discipline is that which, next to virtue, truly and essentially raises one man above another."
| 1 | Teixeira, D. S., Rodrigues, F., Cid, L., & Monteiro, D. (2022). Enjoyment as a Predictor of Exercise Habit, Intention to Continue Exercising, and Exercise Frequency: The Intensity Traits Discrepancy Moderation Role. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. |
| 2 | Andreas Rauch and Willem Hulsink, 2015: Putting Entrepreneurship Education Where the Intention to Act Lies: An Investigation Into the Impact of Entrepreneurship Education on Entrepreneurial Behavior. AMLE, 14, 187–204, |
| 3 | Mischel, W., Shoda, Y., & Peake, P. K. (1988). The nature of adolescent competencies predicted by preschool delay of gratification. Journal of personality and social psychology, 54(4), 687–696. |
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