In this work, we introduce a simple method to investigate the asymptotic stability of discrete dynamical systems, which can be considered as an extension of the classical Lyapunov’s indirect method. This method is constructed based on the classical Lyapunov’s indirect method and the idea proposed by Ghaffari and Lasemi in a recent work. The new method can be applicable even when equilibia of dynamical systems are non-hyperbolic. Hence, in many cases, the classical Lyapunov’s indirect method fails but the new one can be used simply. In addition, by combining the new stability method with the Mickens’ methodology, we formulate some nonstandard finite difference (NSFD) methods which are able to preserve the asymptotic stability of some classes of differential equation models even when they have non-hyperbolic equilibrium points. As an important consequence, some well-known results on stabilitypreserving NSFD schemes for autonomous dynamical systems are improved and extended. Finally, a set of numerical examples are performed to illustrate and support the theoretical findings