How to Reduce Stress by Adding Discipline into Your Life

Introduction

Stress is often a silent culprit that plays a big role in causing health problems to millions of people around the world. Diabetes, depression, obesity, heart disease, gastrointestinal issues and so many other health problems have all been linked to stress.

Here’s what’s so amazing about it – you can fix most of these issues just by reducing your stress levels. The truth of the matter is that this is easier said than done and most people struggle to achieve it because they lack a fundamental piece of the puzzle.

They lack ‘discipline’ and this is one of the MOST IMPORTANT traits to have if you wish to live a life that’s healthy, happy and rewarding. In this article, we’ll look at a few ways to incorporate discipline into your life and how simple actions can reduce stress and have a major impact on your mental health.

· Your diet

Get this one wrong and it’s almost certain that you’ll end up with health issues sooner or later. We live in an age where most people seldom give much thought about they’re eating. All that matters is that tastes good.

You have to be wiser than that. Discipline will ensure that you eat for fuel and not only focus on pleasure. Sure you can treat yourself to a guilty pleasure every now and then, but for the most part, you should be focusing on foods that fuel your body.

Assuming you eat 4 meals a day, that will be 28 meals a week. Even if you ate right for 20 of those meals, it would be excellent. That’s roughly a 71 percent compliance rate and your health would reap a ton of benefits.

The main problem here is that the majority of people make poor food decisions for 100 percent of their meals. All they focus on is how the food will make them feel.

Plan out your meals 1 week ahead so that you do not have to think daily. You could either have 1 cheat day in the week where you eat what you feel like or you could have 1 little cheat meal daily. It doesn’t matter. As long as you are focused on the majority of the meals, you’ll be good to go.

Once you create a food plan that you can follow, stick to it. No matter what your mind tells you, you should NOT deviate. It’s inevitable to face resistance because you’re breaking old habits and forging new ones. Discipline will keep you focused on the plan at hand.

· Your Life

Simple tasks like cleaning up after yourself will work wonders on your stress levels. Make your bed upon waking. Do your dishes the moment you finish eating. Have a laundry schedule. Keep your house and workspace tidy.

Ensure that your children have a schedule to follow and keep them disciplined so that they stick to it without question.

When your life has some semblance of order and sanity, you stress levels will drop. You will not have a messy house that gets on your nerves. Your workspace will not be cluttered and force you to waste time looking for things.

Your kids will know what they need to do without you constantly harping away and shouting at them. It’s all these little things that matter.

The problem is that many people indulge in temporary comfort and procrastination. For example, when they’re done eating, they just leave their plate in the sink because washing it is a hassle. Over time, the dishes build up and now you have a monumental task of washing all the dishes.

This can be annoying and will be at the back of your mind. Quickly complete the little tasks and you’ll avoid major hassles. Discipline is doing what matters when it matters.

Look at your life and simplify it as much as you can. Have a reasonable plan and schedule for everything. From your diet, to the time you sleep and wake to just about everything.

Follow the plan to the letter and you’ll be less stressed out. Wake up on time or slightly earlier than you need to and you’ll not have to scramble and rush to work. Plan your diet well and you’ll shed your excess pounds and not be stressed out over your weight.

Conclusion

Discipline will reduce all the little daily micro-aggressions that get you down and wear you out. It may seem difficult at first to instill order and routine in your life, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll wish you had started earlier. The more disciplined you become, the easier life gets.