Even when real authority figures are not involved, we feel the need to create them in our minds. This is easy to do, because after a whole childhood and youth of constantly being judged by others, we have internalized our judges. That part of you that says, “I’m so stupid,” or “I’m so lazy,” when you don’t live up to certain standards is the spiritual residue (ghosts, if you will) of dozens of past authority figures. Browbeating yourself into good behavior is not self-discipline either. It is obedience to the internalized expectations of others.

Source: Self-Discipline Must Be Selfish | Foundation for Economic Education