You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, “I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.” (…) You must do the thing you think you cannot do.

Eleanor Roosevelt

Self-discipline is a lot like dealing with fear. When you face temptations, look them straight in the eye and send them packing, the next time they appear in your life, you’ll be able to say to yourself, “I managed to overcome them once. I
can handle them this time as well.”
The more times you successfully overcome the temptations, the easier it will be to handle them again. Regular practice will make you less susceptible to temptations and even more likely to ignore them, just like looking fear in the face will make you more likely to act in spite of it.
Granted, it’s not that with enough experience, you’ll become unconditionally self-disciplined, just like you won’t one day stop being afraid of anything. Just remember that each situation that tests your resolve is another experience from which you can draw inspiration to overcome future challenging circumstances when they occur.

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope.

Helen Keller

A positive attitude is essential if you want to build self-discipline. What’s the point of denying yourself instant gratification if you don’t believe that you’ll get a greater compensation for it in the future?
If you suffer from pessimism, realize that along with improving your self- control, you’ll need to improve your ability to see the world in brighter colors.

Three easy steps you can take today to become more optimistic include:

1. Express gratitude for what you already have. If you can’t be happy with what you have today, you won’t be happy with what you have tomorrow.
2. Reframe negative events into opportunities and lessons. An event is bad for you only if you decide it is. Think of it as a lesson or an opportunity to change your life, in order to give it a positive meaning.
3. Surround yourself with positive input. If you only read fear-mongering news and hang out with pessimistic grumblers, you’ll have a hard time exhibiting optimism.