Do you struggle with discipline? I do, and have all my life. With a strong fear of losing my freedom and an equally strong avoidance of dreariness, I defined Discipline as “chaining myself down” to a repeated pattern of activities or tasks. Thus equating it with burdensome drudgery. Many of my clients have shared with me their aversion to discipline, wanting to achieve their goals and yet bumping up against this barrier time after time.
Both being self-employed and developing my PhD dissertation have required that I face the hurdle of discipline again. I’ve had to step up and I’ve found that both belief and behavior must change. I now define Discipline as ” the intentional practice of applying my resources to make my dreams and goals real”. I laugh as I schedule “butt in the chair” time that recently resulted in finishing my PhD proposal and my Quickbooks data entry. I laugh but it works!
If we are leaders in our own lives, then clear intentions, values, priorities, choices and actions are how we practice leadership. Discipline is a mindful practice of grounding that clarity to make our lives and our world. Whatever we tend – gardens, children, projects, etc. – we must come back and invest ourselves continuously. We must say yes to discipline.
Enjoying life,
Nika
