How do you develop discipline?
What are some of the strategies that you use?
I don't know how often you think about your personal discipline, but you are affected by it everyday- for the good or the bad. Discipline is something I think about constantly. Part of this comes from setting goals, part of it is from trying to create new habits. I tend to notice discipline the most when I fail to be disciplined: missing workouts, eating things I am trying to cut back on, not noticing an opportunity to serve my wife, etc. These are the times when I notice discipline the most, because I recognize that I failed to discipline myself to do the things I know I need to do to get the things I want in my life. Discipline is so important, but it is also so challenging.
We all know the negative consequences of a lack of discipline. We feel it in every area of our lives: in our marriages, in our health and fitness, at work, with our children, in every area of life. Lack of discipline is the culprit holding us back. It keeps us from being the best version of ourselves, that ideal self we picture in our minds each day.
The positive side is also true. Each of you has some area of life where you are disciplined. The way to recognize where it is is by looking at where in your life you get quality results consistently. The reason you are getting good results in that area is because you have disciplined yourself there. The good thing is, if you have disciplined yourself in one area you can discipline yourself in another. Usually, discipline carries over. If you are disciplined in one area, generally, it will spill over into other areas of your life. That is why discipline is so important and impactful. You can actually carry over discipline wins from one area of life into all the other areas of your life. Being disciplined with your fitness will help you be more disciplined in your marriage.
That is one of the great secrets and powers of discipline. Discipline compounds upon itself and then spills over into your whole life. That's why it is so important to pick an area and work to develop discipline there. Pick the area of life that will give you the greatest leverage- the one area that will have the greatest impact on every other aspect of your life.
I don't know your specific situation, but here a couple of suggestions on where to start to discipline yourself:
- Read your Bible at least 30 minutes every day.
I recommend doing this as early as possible in the morning. If you work out first thing in the morning then read right after your workout. Developing this discipline has eternal rewards. To keep our faith strong and growing we need to be in God's Word every day. This will also have a significant impact on every area of your life. 2. Exercise every day.
This one is so important for your mental, emotional, and physical health. I recommend exercising first thing when you get out of bed every day. Your life is busy. If you're like me, if you don't do it first thing in the morning you won't do it at all. This may mean you have to change some of your current habits. Do it! If that means you have to get up 30 or 60 minutes earlier, then do it. Turn off the T.V. and go to bed at a decent time. You need to make exercise a priority in your life because your health and fitness have such a great impact on every other area of your life. DO IT!
I won't go into how to set goals and develop the discipline you need in your life, but I will recommend some books to read to dive deeper into this subject:
- Resolved- by Orrin Woodward
- The Ant and the Elephant- by Vince Poscente
- The Magic of Thinking Big- by David Schwartz
These three books will get you started in the right direction, and will help you build a strong foundation. Keep reading. Keep learning. Keep growing.
God bless
Jason Fredrick
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