The Art of Discipline

It is now week three of the new year and over the weekend I took a moment to look at where I am so far in 2012 and where I am going and conclude whether or not I was satisfied.  For the most part the answer was yes and in some ways no - with that in mind, I decided to use this week to discipline myself to stay focused on the goal and to make whatever progress possible. 

Discipline as a verb can be defined as - to train or develop by instruction and exercise especially in self control (Webster).  When I read that I thought - this does  not sound very fun!  However, I know from experience that the end result is always worth the work put into it.  I have run a couple of marathons in my life and this year I have a goal set to run a half-marathon.  What I learned from prior races is that it takes great discipline to be able to run 26.2 miles.  If I were to just get up on race day and decide to run the entire race with no prior training whatsoever- basically, I would die.  It took months of training and building up my endurance to be able to cross the finish line without having to be drug across it.  Yes, it took up a lot of my time to run each day but the end result was well worth it!  To cross the finish line after running a marathon entails such a feeling of accomplishment and personal growth.  From the day I decided to actually train for a marathon until the morning of the race - discipline was a constant and taught me a lot about life in general. 

Whatever you have decided to accomplish in 2012 - I am sure that it will require some measure of discipline.  Goals do not just happen without some amount of work being put into it.  That discipline can be most effective with smaller goals or consistent progress made to achieve the end result.  Do not tackle it all at once.  Break it down into smaller, attainable steps.  Decide what needs to be done each week in order to see the progress made. 

For me, discipline looks like this over the next five days:  I will get up twenty minutes earlier every morning in order to have time to start my day off right (Bible study, prayer, meditation).  I will not skip a day at the gym.  I will strive to save money this week by not spending any this week (which means taking my lunch to work and cooking dinner at home every night).  I will end each night with at least thirty minutes of working on my new book.  I will send out emails to help get my Pay It Forward dream off the ground and I will not pass up an opportunity to help someone in need.  Each one of these are very realistic for this week and it will help get me closer to the end goal.  Let's face it - if I want that great body this year I have to be consistent going to the gym.  It is certainly not just going to appear one day!  If I want to build my savings account,  I have to cut out some things!  If my book is ever going to get on the shelf - I have to write the words down first! 

Discipline.  Some days it may not be as fun, but anyone who has ever accomplished a goal knows that it is worth it!  What are your goals for this year?  What needs to be done in order to accomplish that goal?  What can you do this week to take a small step towards making it happen?  Make discipline a positive thing!