Day 1 of the 30-day discipline challenge. Get out a pen and paper and write down the answer to these three questions. 1: Do I regularly procrastinate on things that I know I should do? 2: Am I truly in control of my life, or am I simply reacting to whatever happens each day? 3: Am I willing to commit to the next 30 days and keep a promise to myself?

Day 2 of the 30-day discipline challenge. Plan for tomorrow. Write down a plan for tomorrow that you will follow. You can write it down on paper or in your phone notes but don’t just try to do it in your head. Writing it down will help you commit to doing what you told yourself you would do and also help you to keep from forgetting anything. Since you're planning your day tomorrow you should know that tomorrow’s challenge is taking a 20-minute walk.

Day 3 of the 30-day discipline challenge. How many people struggle just trying to start exercising? They continue to push it off telling themselves they will do it next week. Going for a walk and literally taking the first step is a great place to start. I don’t believe that people give enough credit to walking. It can help you start a healthy routine; it can help you lose weight; it can help clear your mind and it can allow you to see the beauty that this world has to offer along with many other benefits.

Often people don’t think that the clutter and a mess around them affects them in any way. There have been studies done that show that being in a cluttered or messy environment negatively affects your mood, stress levels and cognitive function. This is something that you can prevent, so why not take the time to clean up an area and improve your quality of life?

When you procrastinate you might think that you are making your life easier because you are putting off something that is making you uncomfortable. In reality though, you are just causing yourself more anxiety.
Often times when you decide to face the uncomfortable, you will feel much better and even build confidence.

People often have no idea where their money goes each month. When they want to buy something, they will check their balance to see if they can "afford" it. This is what gets people into trouble. They forget about a bill that needed to be paid, or some other expense comes up. They struggle to keep track of what is going on in their financial life. The first step is to figure out what you are spending your money on. Look for wasteful spending and areas that you can improve on. Later we will talk about what you can do with this information to be more responsible.

Food habits are a tough one to change. We become addicted to certain food and drinks making it a tough struggle when you want to start eating better. Try not to think about what you're missing out on, but rather what you are gaining by changing the habit. You are gaining a healthier lifestyle. You will feel better in time. You will have more energy. I know this is easier said than done but give it a try and see where it takes you.

There are times that we get so wrapped up in our own lives that we fail to be there for others. Today's challenge is about doing just that.

Writing down a goal and giving it a time frame is a great way to make progress towards something that you want to accomplish. Instead of it just being a thought in your head you can start to take actionable steps to make it become a reality. It all starts with becoming clear on your goal and then breaking it down into manageable tasks that will help you accomplish it.

Taking that fist step and actually working on the goal you set out to do is huge. Don't underestimate what you can accomplish in 30 minutes. Just start moving.

People often don't like to try something new because they are comfortable with knowing what they know. They know what to expect. But how much are they missing out on. We shouldn't be afraid to try something just because we don't know what to expect. You never know, it might just open your eyes!

Budgeting doesn't have to be hard. It does not have to be restricting. You are the boss! You are telling your money what its job is for the month. Budgeting is the thing that will get you in control of your money, and if you have never done this before I can promise it will leak into getting control over other parts of your life as well.

Consistently working towards your goal is the key to accomplishing it. So many people set a goal and forget about it. Keep chipping away at it and before you know it you will be looking at the finish line.

Writing down a fear that is holding you back can be difficult. When you start to think about the reason something is holding you back, you can figure out if your fear is justified or if it's an excuse you came up with just to avoid moving forward. People fear failure and will sometimes go out of their way to find excuses that they can blame it on. Write your fear down and be honest with yourself to figure out which category you fall into.

Too often we fall into the trap of negativity and take for granted the things that we should be grateful for. Writing down things that affect us positively is a great reminder that we should not focus on the negative.

Starting an exercise routine is difficult for a lot of us. It tends to take a back seat when we get busy. Why is it we sacrifice our healthy habits when things get tough? We stop exercising, we stop eating well, we start focusing on the negative. Trying to get into a healthy exercise routine will help you feel better about yourself, put you in a better mood and help you stay active. What do you have to lose?

Coming up with excuses will have you procrastinating in no time! Obviously, that is not what we want to be doing. Coming up with solutions instead of excuses is a much better way of living. You become more reliable, people will have more respect for you, and you will build more self-discipline and confidence. Excuses are just a shortcut to a lazy life.

Distractions are all around us all the time. Finding one you can eliminate will free up some time so you can do something like work towards your goal. Pay attention to how much time you spend on your phone, watching T.V. or playing video games. You'll be amazed what you can accomplish when the distraction is gone.

Sometimes we fall away from a goal we set. It may not be intentional. Refocusing on a goal we set though is always a good idea. Trying to stay consistent or refocusing when we get off track will allow us to continue to chip away at it and will eventually allow us to cross the line of completion.

Reading is a great way to look at things from a different perspective. Getting in the habit of reading is a great way to continue learning as you go through life. If you pick up even one piece of valuable information from a book you read, it was worth the time. Imagine if you continued that habit. Imagine how the information would compound in your life.

Taking time to review how you are doing will help you understand if you need to redirect. If you have failed to do each day so far, think about why. Think about what you could have done better. Think about what it would take to accomplish what you set out to do. Did you commit to this challenge in the beginning? If you did, you made a promise to yourself. Did you break that promise?

What do we do when we learn new things? We expand our mind and look at things from a new perspective! Has there ever been something that you wanted to learn about and just never took the step to start? What's holding you back? Go find some information on something that interests you and start learning about it. You never know where it will take you.

What's the best way to learn new skills? It's by pushing your boundaries. It's by trying new things and challenging yourself. If you always choose easy, life is going to be hard. When you find out what you're capable of, you start to build self-confidence. This will allow you to continue winning in other aspects of your life. Go find out what you are capable of! It might surprise you.

The average amount of time that somebody spends streaming or watching T.V. is about 3 hours and they check their phone about every 5 minutes. That means for thirty minutes you would end up checking your phones six times on average. Thirty minutes isn't really that long, and it may help you realize how often you are distracted by these devices every day. Spend 30 minutes without them and take notice to every time you feel the urge to pick up the phone or turn on a show. Realize how much of your time is stolen every day.

It's easy to get off track with a budget. Especially when it's new to you. Taking the time at least once a week to check on your spending helps ensure that you are staying on track. If you got off track a little bit, now is the time to get back on. Evaluate and adjust your budget if necessary so you can build an excellent habit with your money. You are in control!

Encouragement goes both ways. You know what it's like to receive it, so why wouldn't you give some. You never know how you might influence someone's perspective or even get them moving towards their own goals. I encourage you to encourage someone else today!

When you have a plan for what you are going to do in the week, it will allow you to get right to work instead of wasting time trying to figure out what you're going to do each day. Figure it out ahead of time and do your best to stick to it. The more you stick to your plan the more productive you will be! This goes for other aspects of your life as well. During this challenge I talked about budgeting (plan for your money), I talked about exercising and eating clean (plan for your health), and I talked about discipline (plan for a better life). When it really comes down to it, in order to live a better life, you need to plan and commit.

Do you keep the promises you make to yourself? We all get off track and distracted sometimes, but breaking promises to yourself can cause some big issues. Think back to the last promise you made to yourself. Did you keep it? Did you fail? Try to identify the reason you either kept or broke it. Learn from it. If you were able to keep it, what was the driving force that kept you on track? If you broke it, what were the obstacles that got in your way? continually breaking a promise to yourself will cause lower self-esteem while keeping on will build self-confidence.

Think about this challenge. What was the hardest part about it? What challenged you the most? Where you able to keep your commitment? Reflecting on your progress, are you happy with the results? Doing a challenge like this should give you a taste of some of the things required to help improve your life. Continuing to challenge yourself and practice discipline is what will make things easier.

30 days can go by in the blink of an eye. It can also be agonizingly long. A lot of it will depend on whether you are in control of your life or you are simple reacting to what life throws at you. Are you the type of person that wants to control your life? If so, please follow and share with a friend you think can benefit from taking control of their life.