Looking for that extra boost to stay disciplined, motivated, and consistent with your goals in 2024? Dive into our handpicked selection of 62 of the best quotes on discipline from inspirational figures like Jim Rohn, David Goggins, and Stoic philosophers. Perfect for students, fitness, working hard, and anyone else looking to control their mind for greater results.
“We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.” — Jim Rohn
“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.” – Jim Rohn
“Small disciplines repeated with consistency every day lead to great achievements gained slowly over time.” – John C. Maxwell
“Everything in life is a mind game! Whenever we get swept under by life’s dramas, large and small, we are forgetting that no matter how bad the pain gets, no matter how harrowing the torture, all bad things end.” — David Goggins, author of “Can’t Hurt Me” 👉 Read our book summary!
“Self-respect is the root of discipline: The sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself.” ― Abraham Joshua Heschel
“Throughout my career, I have discovered and rediscovered a simple truth. The ability to concentrate single-mindedly on your most important task, to do it well and finish it completely, is the key to great success, achievement, respect, status, and happiness in life.” — Brian Tracy, author of “Eat That Frog!” 👉 Read our summary!
“Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want most.” – Abraham Lincoln
“Discipline and constant work are the whetstones upon which the dull knife of talent is honed until it becomes sharp enough, hopefully, to cut through even the toughest meat and gristle.” – Stephen King
“You will never have a greater or lesser dominion than that over yourself…the height of a man’s success is gauged by his self-mastery; the depth of his failure by his self-abandonment. …And this law is the expression of eternal justice. He who cannot establish dominion over himself will have no dominion over others.” ― Leonardo da Vinci
“Goals are about the results you want to achieve. Systems are about the processes that lead to those results. […] Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress.” — James Clear, author of “Atomic Habits” 👉 Read our book summary!
“Only the disciplined ones in life are free. If you are undisciplined, then you are a slave to your moods and your passions.” — Eliud Kipchoge, former marathon world record holder
“The paradox seems to be, as Socrates demonstrated long ago, that the truly free individual is free only to the extent of his own self-mastery. While those who will not govern themselves are condemned to find masters to govern over them.” —Steven Pressfield (in his great book “The War of Art” 👉 read our summary!)
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle
“Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.” – Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson
“Wishing will not bring riches. But desiring riches with a state of mind that becomes an obsession, then planning definite ways and means to acquire riches, and backing those plans with persistence which does not recognise failure, will bring riches.” — Napoleon Hill, author of “Think and Grow Rich” 👉 Read our book summary!
“Discipline requires you to set goals, filter distractions, control unhelpful inhibitions, prioritize activities, and pursue the goals that you have set.” — Daniel Walter, author of “The Power of Discipline
“Discipline is about facing your fears so you can conquer them. Discipline means taking the hard road— the uphill road.” – Jocko Willink, author of “Discipline Equals Freedom”
“Don’t wish it were easier. Wish you were better.” – Jim Rohn, entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker.
“Discipline: The root of all good qualities. The driver of daily execution. The core principle that overcomes laziness and lethargy and excuses. Discipline defeats the infinite excuses that say: Not today, not now, I need a rest, I will do it tomorrow.” – Jocko Willink, author of “Discipline Equals Freedom”
“A disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering.” — Dalai Lama
“The biggest difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is that successful people are willing to do what unsuccessful people are not.” — Darren Hardy, author of “The Compound Effect”
“The paradox is that hedonism, the pursuit of pleasure for its own sake, leads to anhedonia, which is the inability to enjoy pleasure of any kind. […] The reason we’re all so miserable may be because we’re working so hard to avoid being miserable.” — Dr. Anna Lembke, author of “Dopamine Nation” 👉 Read our summary!
“Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all.” – George Washington
“Discipline is the refining fire by which talent becomes ability.” – Roy L. Smith
“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” – Mahatma Gandhi
🏋️♂️ Quotes about Discipline for Fitness and the Gym
“Discipline is doing what you hate to do, but nonetheless doing it like you love it.” – Mike Tyson
“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.'” – Muhammad Ali
“Football is like life – it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication, and respect for authority.” — Vince Lombardi
“No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.” — Socrates
“The pain you feel today will be the strength you feel tomorrow.” – Stephen Richards
“The only bad workout is the one that didn’t happen.” – Anonymous
“Man cannot remake himself without suffering, for he is both the marble and the sculptor” – Alexis Carrel
“The last three or four reps is what makes the muscle grow. This area of pain divides a champion from someone who is not a champion.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger
📚 Quotes on Discipline for Students
“True freedom is impossible without a mind made free by discipline.” ― Mortimer J. Adler, author of How to Read a Book
“The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.” – Aristotle
“To find flow, you need to choose one single goal; make sure your goal is meaningful to you; and try to push yourself to the edge of your abilities.” — Johann Hari, author of “Stolen Focus”
“Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden
“Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.” ― Plato
“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” – Malcolm X
“Why waste time proving over and over how great you are, when you could be getting better?” — Carol Dweck, Author of “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success”
🔥 Quotes about Discipline for Hard Work and Success
“If you want to master the mind […], you’ll have to become addicted to hard work. Because passion and obsession, even talent, are only useful tools if you have the work ethic to back them up.” — David Goggins, author of “Can’t Hurt Me” 👉 Read our book summary!
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” – Colin Powell
“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will.” — Vince Lombardi, famous coach
“Learning to do the things you need to do, regardless of how you feel, is a core discipline for success.” —Brian P. Moran, author of The 12 Week Year
“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” – Hebrews 12:11 (NIV)
“The ability to subordinate an impulse to a value is the essence of the proactive person. Reactive people are driven by feelings, by circumstances, by conditions, by their environment. Proactive people are driven by values—carefully thought about, selected, and internalized values.” — Stephen Covey, author of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” 👉 Read our book summary!
“The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.” – Bruce Lee
“Concentrate every minute like a Roman—like a man—on doing what’s in front of you with precise and genuine seriousness, tenderly, willingly, with justice. And on freeing yourself from all other distractions. Yes, you can — if you do everything as if it were the last thing you were doing in your life, and stop being aimless, stop letting your emotions override what your mind tells you, stop being hypocritical, self-centered, irritable.” – Marcus Aurelius, author of “Meditations” 👉 Read our summary!
Community Notes