Developing Discipline

One of the most overused and fake words when it comes to personal growth is “motivation”.  Motivation is a temporary feeling that comes as a result of endorphins being released and feeling the “high” that accompanies those endorphins.  Motivation is fake and cannot be relied on for your growth. 

Let’s be clear, growth hurts.  You will have to make sacrifices to grow.  You will have to put forth tremendous amounts of effort to grow.  You will have to be uncomfortable to find true growth.  You will have to study when you don’t want to, learn to be vulnerable, get up when you are exhausted, run when it’s freezing outside.  Doing these things cannot depend on motivation.  Doing these things requires something much more powerful.  These things require discipline. 

Discipline is a choice.  You must choose to continue to read when all you want to do is watch tv. Choose to open up at times when you fear being judged by others. To get up and go to the gym while the rest of the world seems to still be sleeping.  You have to make the choice that you are going to do whatever you need to do in order to get better and be better.

So how do you develop discipline? Discipline takes practice.  It must become a habit.  The only way to develop it is to truly desire it and make the choice to do what you need to do.  It comes in putting what you need first and putting what you want secondary.  Discipline can be your greatest ally but it is also your greatest critic.  Discipline will cause you to call yourself out for falling short of what you know you should have done.  Discipline will make you see things through to the end. It will keep you going until the job is done.

We can see the results of not having discipline in our lives by looking at where we are.  If we are trying to get in shape, we know the choices we made that led to our becoming overweight or too skinny.  We know the choices we made that put us in this position.  One thing they all have in common is that they were our choices.  We are responsible.  Just as we are responsible for becoming disciplined.  No one else is going to do it for us.  There is no magic wand to zap discipline into our lives. All we have is our choices.  Discipline is a choice.  A choice that only you can make.