Activity: The Power of Self-Discipline

Strengthen your self-discipline, and discover how it can help you succeed.

To begin the activity, pass out a small treat to the youth. (Be sure to check for food allergies before making or buying the treat.) Explain that they can eat the treat at any time during the activity. However, tell them that, every 20 minutes, they will receive another treat for every treat they do not eat. So, if the activity lasts an hour and they don’t eat any of their treats, they will end the activity with eight treats. Explain that this represents delayed gratification, an important principle of self-discipline.

Next, ask the group, “What does it mean to have self-discipline?” Write down their responses, and then ask them to describe some tasks from their weekly schedule that require self-discipline; for example:

• Being on time for school, seminary, or church
• Exercising daily
• Avoiding unhealthy foods
• Completing homework on time
• Completing chores
• Getting enough sleep
• Staying calm in a frustrating situation
• Planning and keeping a budget

Together, discuss how they’ve dealt with these situations in the past. What have they done well? How could they have been better? Explain that, in situations requiring self-discipline, we need to show focus and willpower. To illustrate this in a lighthearted way, play one or more of the following games:

• Split the group into pairs. Partners sit facing each other. One partner tries to make the other smile, and the other partner tries to keep a straight face. Partners can speak but cannot touch each other. Set a time limit (one or two minutes). At the end of the time limit, have the partners switch roles.
• Give each participant a paper with a word or phrase that they will act out. You can make the activity more challenging by using more difficult words and phrases. The person acting out the word cannot speak. Have participants focus specifically on not getting frustrated during the game.
• Break up the group into pairs, and have a staring contest. Who can show self-discipline and not blink? Have the winners from each pair compete until a champion is crowned.

Throughout the discussion and games, give the youth the appropriate number of treats every 20 minutes based on whether they ate their original or subsequent treats.

Please adapt activities as necessary to ensure all individuals are able to participate, belong, and contribute. Adjust the activity accordingly based on food allergies that may be present with members in your congregation.

• Invite a knowledgeable person from the community to show the youth basic moves in dance, yoga, martial arts, or another physical activity that requires self-discipline. Have the speaker explain the connection between exercise and self-discipline and how it can help improve focus and willpower.
• As a group, search the scriptures and Church history for examples of people showing self-discipline. Write down their names and where their story is found. How did they show self-discipline? What spiritual principle does their story illustrate? What can we learn from them? For example, you could talk about how Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego obeyed their dietary standards even though they were surrounded by delicious, rich foods that the king of Babylon wanted them to eat.

Encourage youth to talk about how what they are learning can help them and others grow closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Discussions can take place before, during, or after the activity and should last just a few minutes. You could ask questions like the following:

• Jesus Christ was tempted many times during His mortal ministry. How did He demonstrate self-discipline in these situations? How can we follow His example?
• Why do you think self-discipline is important to your progress and happiness?
• When was a time you experienced the blessings of self-discipline?

• “How can I learn to be more patient?” (Come, Follow Me—For Aaronic Priesthood; Come, Follow Me—For Young Women)
• “Why is work an important gospel principle?” (Come, Follow Me—For Aaronic Priesthood; Come, Follow Me—For Young Women)
• D. Todd Christofferson, “Moral Discipline,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2009, 105–8
• “Be Obedient—How Self-Discipline Improves Our Temporal and Spiritual Lives,” Self-Reliance Services, ChurchofJesusChrist.org
• Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Continue in Patience,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2010, 56–59
• “Work and Self-Reliance,” For the Strength of Youth (booklet, 2011), 40–41

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• Building Spiritual Habits
• Seven Days of Service
• Learning to Recognize and Follow the Spirit
• Build Relationships by Demonstrating Respect for Others
• The Power of the Articles of Faith
• The Joy of Family History and Temple Service