Skip to main content
  • Individuals
    • Individuals
    • Business
    • Adviser
    • About us
    • Contact us
    • Claims
    • AIA Vitality Member Login
  • Search
  • AIA Australia
  • Health Insurance
    • Member Benefits
    • Member Login
    • Get a quote
    • Make a claim
  • Life Insurance
    • Life Cover
    • Total and Permanent Disablement
    • Crisis Recovery
    • Income Protection
    • Business Expenses
    • Make a claim
    • Medix
  • AIA Vitality
    • Partners and Rewards
    • Already a member? Login
  • Content Hub
    • Move Well
    • Plan Well
    • Eat Well
    • Think Well
  • Help & Support
    • Making a Claim
    • Form Library
    • Policyholder Information
    • Complaints process
    • Contact AIA
    • Customer feedback
    • COVID-19
    • Part 9
  • Covid-19 Response
    • Claims and Medical Support
    • Applying for Life Cover
    • COVID-19 FAQs
AIA
  • Individuals
  • Business
  • Adviser
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Claims
  • AIA Vitality Member Login
  • Health Insurance

    Health Insurance

    Cover that protects and rewards.

    • Member Benefits

      Learn more about the range of benefits available to AIA Health Insurance members.

    • Member Login

      Existing members login here to your online account.

    • Get a quote

      Ready to get started?

    • Make a claim

      Get help with making a claim.

  • Life Insurance

    Life Insurance

    We’re here to help protect your family, your lifestyle and your future.

    For Individuals

    For Business

    • Life Cover

      Helps protect your loved ones if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness or pass away.

    • Total and Permanent Disablement

      A lump sum benefit if you're no longer able to work due to an injury or illness.

    • Crisis Recovery

      Helps ease the financial burden should you suffer a traumatic event.

    • Income Protection

      Can provide you with a monthly income if you become disabled due to injury or illness.

    • Business Expenses

      May assist to pay expenses of your business if you cannot work due to injury or illness.

    • Make a claim

      Get help with making a claim.

    • Medix

      Personal Medical Case Management.

  • AIA Vitality

    AIA Vitality

    AIA Vitality is a personalised, science-backed health and wellbeing program that supports you every day to make healthier lifestyle choices.

    • Partners and Rewards

      Learn more about our partners and rewards.

    • Already a member? Login

      Check your AIA Vitality Status and get access to the tools you need to help improve your health.

  • Content Hub

    Content Hub

    The AIA Vitality Content Hub is your go to for science-backed, health and wellbeing inspiration and advice.

    • Move Well

      Finding your further when it comes to exercise and fitness.

    • Plan Well

      Improving financial literacy, because a good tomorrow starts today.

    • Eat Well

      Caring for your body with food that makes you feel good.

    • Think Well

      Tools and information to help cultivate a healthy frame of mind.

  • Help & Support

    Help & Support

    We strive to assist you for all your inquiries with high touch customer service.

    Contact AIA
    • Making a Claim

      Get help with making a claim.

    • Form Library

      A selection of forms you can download, fill in and send back to us.

    • Policyholder Information

      Useful information for policyholders.

    • Complaints process

      If you have a complaint, we'll do our best to resolve the situation.

    • Contact AIA

      How to get in contact with us.

    • Customer feedback

      Let us know how we're doing.

    • COVID-19

      How we are responding.

    • Part 9

      Information about the upcoming transfer under Part 9.

  • Covid-19 Response

    Covid-19 Response

    We’re here to help in a time of crisis.

    • Claims and Medical Support

      How we can support you.

    • Applying for Life Cover

      Learn more about our coverage.

    • COVID-19 FAQs

      Find out more.

  • Search
  • Contact Us
    • Call Us

      Open: 8am to 6pm, AEST Mon - Fri

    • Find an adviser

Plan Well
Back to Top
  • {{title}}

    {{label}}
  • Can you actually strengthen your self-discipline?

    Staff Writer - 5 min read

    10 November 2020


    Is discipline holding you back from your wellbeing goals? AIA Vitality Ambassadors Dr Jaime Lee and Samantha Gash weigh in on how we can develop better self-discipline and impulse control.

    Can you actually strengthen your self-discipline?

    We know that we need to eat better, move more, spend less time on screens and more time outdoors – but all of that takes discipline.

    Self-discipline is one of the most important skills to have in your toolbox. It’s the power to actually do what you should be doing, like getting out of bed, exercising, studying for exams, and eating well. They’re those things we don’t always feel like doing, but can make a big impact on our overall health and quality of life.

    Without self-discipline, we’re less likely to do the things we need to and we’re more likely to procrastinate, lose focus, and our health may even suffer.

    So apart from actually helping us live our lives in a healthy, functioning way, what else is self-discipline good for? Glad you asked. It helps us achieve our goals, reduces stress, improves our health, and may even make us more resilient.

    Results from our recent study – conducted in partnership with Quantium Health – suggest that if the Australian population practiced at least average health habits, such as exercising more, getting regular sleep, and cutting their alcohol intake, that national depression incidence rate could reduce from 6% to 4.7%.

    So when it comes to self-discipline, how do we make it a habit? And where do we even start?

    Endurance athlete and AIA Vitality ambassador Sam Gash says consistency is key. “It’s important to strategize achievable ways of being consistent if you want a new habit to become a routine,” she explains. “Creating a routine from nothing is the hardest part.”

    She also stresses the importance of making your goals achievable. Rather than setting yourself lofty goals around, say, exercise, start with bite-sized chunks that will work for you, like “I’m going to start with getting outside for 30 minutes each day”, rather than “I’m going to run 10kms a day, STARTING NOW!”. The important thing is to start establishing regular ways to physically move your body.

    Health expert and AIA Vitality ambassador Dr Jaime Lee has similar ideas. Keep little prompts around the house, like your running shoes near the door, to remind you to get out for a run. It’s about making your new habit as easy as possible.

    “Don’t make the habit you want to develop too extreme either,” she advises, “Make it small, but do it consistently. If you’re a little gentler on yourself, the habit can be easier to set.”

    It’s something that takes practice, and takes time, so start where you are. Go for a 10-minute run rather than setting a marathon distance. Start your day with a few minutes of gentle stretching, rather than committing to an expensive online yoga program. Commit to having a green smoothie every day, rather than doing an immediate overhaul of your diet.

    If you struggle with impulse control, Dr Jaime suggests removing the temptation. “Pick a day, and take the snacks out of the house, or delete the apps from your phone, or whatever you need to do.”

    It’s also important, says Dr Jaime, to decide to build new habits “from a place of soul, rather than from a place of ego.” By this, she means that we’re much more likely to be successful over the long-term if we’re making changes for ourselves, rather than for anyone else, or any other external reason. “You might decide to exercise to look good to please your partner,” she says. “But if the relationship ends, what then? The control needs to come from you. Your internal motivators, and knowing that you’re doing it for yourself, really matter.”

    This is general information only and is not intended as financial, medical, health, nutritional or other advice. You should obtain professional advice from a financial adviser, or medical or health practitioner in relation to your own personal circumstances.


    Staff Writer

    Staff writers come from a range of backgrounds including health, wellbeing, music, tech, culture and the arts. They spend their time researching the latest data and trends in the health market to deliver up-to-date information, helping everyday Australians live healthier lives. This is general information only and is not intended as medical, health, nutritional or other advice. You should obtain professional advice from a medical or health practitioner in relation to your own personal circumstances. The information in this article is general information only and is not intended as medical, health, nutritional or other advice. You should obtain professional advice from a medical or health practitioner in relation to your own personal circumstances 

     

    Sign Up to Our Newsletter

    Sign up to receive a monthly email with links to all our latest articles on health and wellness information for a healthier, happier and longer life. 

    Health and Wellbeing Inspiration

    This inspirational content is brought to you by AIA Vitality

    AIA Vitality is a science-backed program that helps you learn more about your health, offers ways to improve it and motivates you with rewards along the way.

    Contact AIA

    1800 333 613

    PO Box 6111
    Melbourne VIC 3004

    enquiries@aia.com.au

    AIA Global aia.com

    Contact AIA

    1800 333 613

    PO Box 6111
    Melbourne VIC 3004

    enquiries@aia.com.au

    Help and support

    Make a claim

    Frequently asked questions

    Customer feedback

    Complaints process

    Whistleblower policy

    Form library

    Explore AIA

    AIA Vitality

    Health insurance

    Life insurance

    OneLife

    About AIA

    Careers

    Our people

    Our commitments

    Media centre

    Our awards

    FSC commitment

    Help and support

    Make a claim

    Frequently asked questions

    Customer feedback

    Complaints process

    Whistleblower policy

    Form library

    explore Aia

    AIA Vitality

    Health insurance

    Life insurance

    Content Hub

    about AIA

    Careers

    Our people

    Our commitments

    Media centre

    Our awards

    FSC commitment


    Copyright © 2021. AIA Group Limited and its subsidiaries or affiliates. All rights reserved. Priority Protection and Priority Protection for Platform Investors products are issued by AIA Australia Limited (ABN 79 004 837 861, AFSL 230043). AIA Vitality, a personalised, science-backed program that supports members every day to make healthier choices, is available with eligible products issued by AIA Australia. AIA Health with AIA Vitality is issued by AIA Health Insurance Pty Ltd ABN 32 611 323 034, a registered private health insurer governed by the Private Health Insurance Act 2207, Private Health Insurance Rules 2007 and the AIA Health Insurance Pty Ltd Fund Rules. The information on this website is current as at 14 January 2021 and may be subject to change. It is general information only and is not intended in any way to be financial, legal, tax, health, medical, nutritional or other advice. You should consider your own personal circumstances and needs and view the relevant product documents, fact sheets, fund rules and terms and conditions before making a decision to acquire such products. If necessary you should obtain professional advice from a financial, tax, medical or health professional. Unless expressly stated, any views or expressions of opinion (including any video content) do not represent the opinion of AIA.
    Terms of Use | Privacy