A Date With Discipline
- Rebekah Mallory
- Jan 2, 2017
- 2 min read
"Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments."~ Jim Rohn
My mom used to "discipline" me with a wooden spoon. I remember thinking as I ran down the hall away from her psychotic outburst, "she always says I need discipline. I don't like discipline. Feels like punishment." From that time until just recently (like last month or so) discipline didn't leave a good impression and I felt the phantom ghost of a wooden spoon swatting my rear. Ahhh, memories. I looked up the word 'discipline' in the dictionary to get a handle on it, a lot of the books I've been reading mention words like: discipline, intentions, training and habits. Call me crazy, but these words sound nicer than the sound of a wooden spoon coming at you full force from an angry, Italian mother. What I think my parents were trying to do was instill good habits and train me for...something. Success, maybe? Success in what, I'm unsure. As I continue to mull it over, it's starting to make sense. I don't think the wooden spoon was all that effective per se, but I at least have a handle on the word and it doesn't mean punishment. Merriam-Webster's definition is one that I jive with: noun, dis·ci·pline \ˈdi-sə-plən\: training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character.
With this definition in mind and the new year that's begun, I can surely apply this. I'm planning to document my daily activities for a week and at weeks end I will review the current habits I have and see if they're serving me. Chances are, there will be things that need to change. Once I've got that handled, it's on like Donkey Kong. Here are 2 areas where I want to discipline or train myself:
Stick to waking early to get my day started off right with reading, journaling and working out. "Well you do that anyway, don't you?" I do...but I also dilly-dally. I need to go drill sargeant on myself. Set a timer or something...
I need to set good business practices and stick to them. I love fitness coaching and supporting others as they reach their goals, but honestly, some days I am so scattered and that affects how available I am to those I serve.
There are more than 2 areas where I'd like to focus but let's be real, when I bite off more than I can chew, I'm just going to overwhelm myself and set myself up for disappointment and subsequent failure. Then, I'll get poopy at myself. To recap- one week, 2 areas of focused discipline and I will document all I'm noticing and share.I can't just wait for a change to magically happen, right? I gotta check myself and train myself into better habits. Who's with me? Let's rock our lives and free ourselves from the shackles of mediocrity! You in?
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