Clifton Kopp
As someone who grew up with very little discipline, I feel for other men who have to deal with this affliction.
When you lack discipline, it’s usually not your fault.
A lack of discipline is usually rooted in childhood experiences… and thus these behaviors become deeply ingrained within you, affecting all aspects of your life.
To have no discipline is to be handicapped in life. You watch everyone else make progress, while you feel left behind.
The thing is, you can’t keep blaming the past, resigned to your fate.
You have to move forward. It’s your life at the end of the day. It’s time you own it.
But first, you need to get a clearer picture of the signs.
In this article, I’ll take you through the traits of men who live life with minimal discipline.
Once you have more clarity, you can start taking steps to fix your situation.
Let’s get to it!
1) They’re heavy procrastinators
I won’t sugarcoat it: procrastination sucks.
I know people with infinite potential to be great, but are too consumed and debilitated by procrastinating tendencies to make any meaningful progress.
When you frequently delay tasks and responsibilities, this is incredibly counterproductive.
You’re causing yourself stress, allowing work to pile up until it becomes too mentally and emotionally overwhelming to complete.
We all tend to procrastinate on occasion but when it becomes your status quo, realize that it’s time to change things up.
When work accumulates, you’re less motivated to move forward, which in turn means a half-assed, last-minute job (or none at all)… And eventually more procrastination.
Break the cycle. Get your priorities in order. Start managing your time efficiently. You got this.
2) They’re inconsistent
You can have the greatest, most innovative ideas in the world but without consistency, they’re essentially useless.
Men who lack discipline are like our cell phones.
They’ll start strong, full of energy, when fully charged… but as time passes and the battery begins to drain, they wither away until they give up completely.
With this approach, they’ll often struggle to stick to routines or commitments.
They’ll start projects, complete with vitality and life, but once they encounter the inevitable setback, they’ll abandon them shortly after.
Not a good habit.
If you tend to give up at the first sight of hardship, you probably won’t be going anywhere worthwhile in life.
Real talk.
3) They’re highly impulsive
There’s a fine line between trusting your gut and acting impulsively.
Impulsivity is lazy.
Why? Because it takes time and effort to weigh all the factors, however unpleasant, before proceeding with making a decision.
Men without discipline will often forgo the latter process and hastily act on impulse… a habit that can have dire consequences down the line.
In a relationship, impulsivity means giving in to temptation on a whim.
In business, it means making a major financial decision or investment without thoroughly reviewing the numbers.
In day-to-day living, it means spending recklessly with no consideration for budget.
This isn’t where you want to be in life.
4) They have a lack of goals
Men with no discipline tend to sort of coast through life.
They live day-to-day with no concrete purpose or meaning.
Eventually, their lives regress into a perpetual state of limbo.
Not good.
To make the most of your days, setting and pursuing goals (both long and short-term) is essential.
Having goals will give you something to strive towards.
Having goals will allow you to move with a clear direction, rather than aimlessly wander through your days.
So if you haven’t already, start setting a few goals for yourself. Grab a notebook and jot them down.
Give yourself timelines. Celebrate your milestones, both big and small. You’ll notice a major difference in no time.
5) They have unhealthy lifestyle habits
Here’s the thing: Men who lack discipline often live like college freshmen.
They haven’t truly embraced their adulthood and the responsibilities that come with it.
Looking after yourself takes a degree of discipline and effort.
Instead of putting the work in, these men prioritize escapism–and seek cheap thrills and instant gratification above all else.
The latter often manifests as unhealthy habits.
Maybe rather than consuming a balanced diet, for instance, they’ll regularly gorge themselves with Dairy Queen and chicken nuggets.
Maybe they’ll live a mostly sedentary life, playing video games or binge-watching Netflix on the sofa rather than getting exercise.
Maybe they’ll stay up all night partying, getting blackout drunk, and feeling wretched the next day.
Maybe they’ll barely sleep, or oversleep.
A healthy life means balance… and balance takes discipline.
6) They’ll make excuses all the time
Part of being a man is taking accountability for your shortcomings.
Leave the blaming and excuses for the teenagers, you’re a man now, it’s time you started owning that fact.
A parallel I’ve observed among unsuccessful men is that they’re always full of excuses for their lack of progress in life.
They’ll seek to blame external factors rather than take responsibility.
And hey, maybe, occasionally, there’s truth in what they’re staying.
But still, if your automatic reaction is to look for blame rather than own up to mistakes, then you’re doing it wrong.
Weaseling your way out of a sticky situation isn’t good for your character, but you know what it is?
Taking accountability, learning from your mistakes, and coming back stronger.
7) They’re financially irresponsible
There are a few more transparent ways to gauge a man’s level of discipline in life than observing his relationship with money.
Disciplined men are responsible with money; they’re able to save, budget, and invest… after thorough due diligence.
This is a stark contrast to the undisciplined man.
I know many men who lack discipline and almost all of them are in debt, in some way or another.
Rather than have financial freedom, they struggle to get by, having to tackle things like poor credit, debt, and general instability.
This makes them a liability in life, and often, they feel like they get left behind by their peers, having to constantly play catch-up–which only reinforces feelings like low self-esteem and self-worth.
Speaking of which…
8) They have low self-esteem
I have a good friend who is extremely talented, highly intelligent, and an all-around Renaissance man of sorts.
But he also suffers from terribly low self-esteem… in large part because he lacks discipline and knows it.
Remember, just because somebody has no discipline doesn’t necessarily mean they have no self-awareness.
In the case of my friend, for example, he’s hyperaware of his shortcomings; shortcomings so deep that they have strained his closest relationships in life.
This leaves him with low morale, as if he’s incapable of getting better, and lacking the motivation to do so.
He has to constantly remind himself that he’s capable of change.
You see, once your self-esteem starts affecting your motivation in life, it becomes problematic, it becomes a toxic cycle… one that can be incredibly tough to break.
