What is "Discipline" and is it necessary for an online entrepreneur?

byGail-UK

3.8K followers

8 months ago

Hello amazing WAers, I hope you are having a wonderful day.

In conversation with one of my daughters earlier today, I found myself saying "You need to be disciplined about this" as I tried to motivate her to tidy her room. What she doesn't know but I do, is that her friend from Gloucester is coming to see her tomorrow to 'surprise' her and both I and her sister, who's also in on the secret, have been trying to get her to tidy it without spoiling the surprise!

But this got me thinking about what discipline really means in life. It's easy to see how having the discipline to hang your clothes in the wardrobe and put your dirty ones in the washing basket can help keep your bedroom tidy, but how does discipline relate to starting and maintaining an online business?

I found this quote online, which I liked:

"Motivation gets you going, but discipline keeps you growing." — John C. Maxwell

So, what is discipline for us 'wannabe' entrepreneurs?

Let’s be honest – when you’re your own boss, discipline takes on a whole new meaning. It’s not about military routines or forcing yourself to sit at a desk for 14 hours straight and then face the 'ant run' of people at the station following their daily commute to catch the 6.14.

For us, discipline becomes about the little choices we make every day to keep going, stay focused, and not get completely sidetracked by cat videos or the impulse to make domain purchases. (I've had a few of those in my time, I can tell you!) Whilst these can be fun, they won't get you from where you are now to where you want to be.

Here’s what discipline actually looks like when you’re building your online business:

1) Getting on with it – even when no one’s watching

No one is going to chase you up if you skip a day (or three)! There are no angry emails from management - you ARE the management! Just you, your goals, and whether or not you’re brave and disciplined enough to keep moving forward. Discipline means showing up even when your to-do list has mysteriously turned into “watch just one more thing on YouTube” because I really do need to know how to crochet a sweater and I need to know it now!

2) Being on social media without falling into the abyss

Yes, you need to post, engage, build your brand, answer comments and share relevant content. But it’s a slippery slope from scheduling content to ending up deep in a comment thread about whether pineapple belongs on pizza. My daughter taunts me about being what she describes now as a "Facebook Mum" (whatever that is), but I think she means someone who posts their whole life and their children's lives on Facebook out of duty. Clearly she has not read or engaged with my Facebook pages otherwise she'd see the meme's about MMO niches, life after death research and the foibles of being a drama teacher! However, her point is a relevant one and discipline here for us, is knowing when to log off.

3) Resisting the urge to check your analytics every five minutes

Hands up, I'm guilty of this one, which is why I'm reminding you to "Do as I say, not as I do!!!" Only joking!

In the early days, you won’t see much happening. And that’s normal. Obsessively refreshing your stats doesn’t build your business (are you listening, Gail) – creating content, building trust, and learning the ropes does. Discipline is learning to trust the process instead of looking for instant validation and I'm working on this... (Boy am I working on this!)

4) Sticking to your schedule - even if it's “I work best between 10 pm and 2 am”

Discipline doesn’t mean clocking in like you’re back in your 9 to 5. Many of us are doing this around our 9 to 5, which means usually at 6am or 11pm! However, discipline here does mean carving out that dedicated time for your business and actually using it. (Scrolling through Canva templates for an hour doesn’t count. I’ve tried.)

5) Taking time to learn the tools you need

We all have a list - I actually have lists of lists, in the same way I have 'bags of bags' to go shopping with! For me, a list seems to be a necessity! “Must figure out email funnels,” “Learn Canva properly,” “Stop being scared of SEO.” Discipline here means actually sitting down and learning the bits that can make the magic happen even if that's not your favourite thing to do. I recently learned (or I should say, am still learning) how to use Adobe's Indesign so that I can format my own ebooks. It took time but I worked at it - watched Youtube explanations, and hey presto, I've recently published a small ebook as a lead magnet on my site. So discipline here is taking the time to learn the skills!

6) Following the training instead of jumping ship every time something shiny appears

This point is related to point 6 but nuanced slightly differently. There are thousands of strategies out there. But if you’re constantly switching plans, you will never give any of them a chance to work in your favour and you will become the proverbial "Jack of all trades, Master of None." So, discipline here is finishing what you started. The 80-20 rule states that the last 20% of the work will take 80" of the time, but it's worth it to finally tick that task off your list. (And yes, that does includes the bit where you set up your 'About Me' page or 'Homepage' properly.)

7) Not letting other people’s doubts derail you

This is a super important one. People might not understand what you’re doing. That’s OK. This is your path, not theirs. Discipline means staying grounded in your own vision, and your own definition of success, even when the world gives you a raised eyebrow. In this instance, my instinct says, raise the other eyebrow, turn away and keep going, well out of earshot of the naysayers. They'll soon find something else to be negative about, but you don't need to hear them! Honestly, you don't. Log back on here at WA and have your positive beliefs reinforced!

8) Learning from mistakes instead of calling it quits

Ah yes, this is one of my favourites. Mistakes are important. Successful people make more mistakes than unsuccessful people because they see them as feedback, not personal criticism. When something doesn't go to plan, your blog post flops, your computer crashes at just the wrong moment, or Google changes its algorithm AGAIN, have discipline - meaning adjust your focus and perspective, learn the lessons and start again in a new way.

9) Letting yourself rest without feeling guilty

And finally, discipline is also knowing when to step away, recharge, and not treat every waking moment as 'hustle time'. You’re human. Rest is productive too, and keeping yourself healthy and able to work is just as important.

So, know when to rest.. those cat videos will still be waiting!

Discipline isn’t glamorous. It’s quiet, steady, and often underrated and uncelebrated. But it’s also the thing that keeps you going when motivation takes a hike.

"Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want most."
— Often attributed to Abraham Lincoln

What does discipline look like for you today? Let me know in the comments...

Gail

PS. And for those who are vaguely interested, my daughter did finish tidying her room. So it's only me now who has to tackle the kitchen!!

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