I remember the day my older brother gave me a precious gift. It was the most admirable compliment anyone had ever given me at the raw age of 17. He looked straight in my eyes and said, “Andrea, you are the most disciplined person that I know.” Wow! My hero called me disciplined?!? I felt a challenge to continue to live up to this “discipline thing.” Not quite understanding what this all meant, I asked myself… How do I stay or become disciplined? What does that look like or mean? Why is being disciplined important?
Over the years, I have studied one thing that all disciplined people have in common. They put first things first. I have trained myself to be that person. Anything worth having is not easy. Disciplined people just have a habit of doing things most people do not like to do. I have observed that they don’t like doing them either. It is the burning YES that makes it possible to say NO to other things.
Travel with those that are like-minded and work hard. You will find that there are not many, but a few. The Discipline Road is not a dead-end, but life-giving forever and ever. Be mindful of those you walk with. They should help you grow in every area of your life!
Here are some things you will see along this road…
You will find dependable people that do what they say and follow through on commitments.
People that work hard developing good habits by depriving the bad habits in their life.
People that make to-do lists and write specific short and long-term goals.
People that are obsessed with calendars of any shape or size.
People that avoid distraction to keep their eyes on the prize.
Two weeks ago, during a regular scheduled workout, another regular gym member came up to me and solidified all my life goals. She looked in my eyes and said, “Andrea, I have watched you month after month, day after day and noticed one thing about you that I admire. Your are disciplined.”
The easy road is a dead end. The hard road is a road of discipline, success and worth living. I invite you, my friend, to walk with me down the road of discipline.
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