Discipline is your friend. It will help you succeed in life. Many people avoid discipline like the plague. Things get too hard and they quit. There’s a reason they send boys to boot camp before they send them into battle. They learn discipline. It prepares them for battle. They become men. In our lives, we pick up some bad habits. Discipline gets rid of the bad habits and trains us to develop good ones.
Our habits change when our mindsets change. This takes discipline.
When you want to lose the weight more than you want to drink that soda or eat that cheesecake, then you will discipline yourself to make the change in your diet, or your doctor will.
When you are trying to save money, you can’t buy everything you want. You have to discipline yourself to come up with a budget, to put some money away in a savings account, to do without the extras that others may be enjoying.
I didn’t really have much discipline growing up. My mother died when I was 11 and my dad tried to make my sister and I feel better by giving us whatever we wanted. He worked all the time, so he felt a little guilty, I guess. He threw money our way to avoid having to deal with discipline.
I tried going out for basketball in junior high, but never made the team. I couldn’t handle the conditioning. It was “too hard” for me. I didn’t have the mindset, really, to be a basketball player. I wanted to be on the team because my friends wanted to play. I didn’t have the discipline or the mindset to succeed at basketball.
When I got married, though, that was a different story. I was determined to be a good wife and mother. That was something I really wanted. 36 years later, I can honestly say that I am doing it! That didn’t happen in an instant, but the mindset was there. I wanted that more than anything. And that is the key to discipline, my friends. You have to want to change more than you want to stay the same. Can you relate?
One of the best disciplines I’ve encountered over the years is prayer. I get up every morning around 6:00 am. I pray with a cup of coffee for an hour. I’ve been doing that now consistently for 2 years. What a difference it makes in your life. Talk about living life to the fullest!
Here’s another discipline I’m getting ready to implement: daily Bible reading. It’s pretty evident that we are living in some kind of crazy world. Time to discipline myself to get back into the Word of God for protection. Kinda like boot camp, prayer and the Word will prepare us for the battle that’s coming. It’s time for the body of Christ to suit up and put on the full armor of God. I think we are going to need it. Anyone else feel like this?
When you change your habits, you change your life. Change your mindset. It starts with disciplining yourself to create good habits. Create the habits that you want in your life. Then follow through with them for at least 21 days. Schedule it in your planner or calendar. When you feel like quitting, keep following through. Find someone to help you be accountable. It will get easier if it’s something you really want. Learn self-control. It can be done. Keep reminding yourself of the goal. How badly do you want it?
Discipline really is your friend. You just have to stick with Him.
God bless.—Barb
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