As the daughter of a Marine, discipline is my middle name (& sometimes my first)! I wasn’t a fan of parental discipline growing up (nope!), but I understand the importance of it now and am thankful for it as an adult. At times during my childhood I felt like we were the only kids who had so many chores – like big time chores. Not just making your bed and cleaning up your room, but chopping wood, stacking wood, shoveling, cutting the lawn, raking the leaves, changing the oil in the cars, etc. None of my other friends had to do any of this stuff! However, I learned to have great work ethic & to appreciate the finished product.
I am who I am because of how I was raised. It’s no secret I’m quite anal, organized, hyper-focused, blah blah blah . . . disciplined in most areas of my life. When I set a goal, I work hard until I’ve accomplished it. However, the goal does have to be mine. It has to be personal to me, not someone else’s goal. This is why I closed my organic pizzeria; it wasn’t my dream & I didn’t want to work that hard for something that wasn’t meaningful to me. I needed my studio!
Discipline is what moves you forward towards your goal, whatever it is; workout 3 days/week, eat half as much sugar, drink alcohol only on weekends, see friends once/month, volunteer once/month, etc. You are more motivated and therefore, more disciplined to achieve a goal when it’s personal to you. I went to college for 14 years! How did I do that (& why you might ask)? Discipline. I wanted to learn as much as I could about my field so I sacrificed to get it. At 45 years old, I’m still paying off my college loans, but I have incredible knowledge, gained valuable experience, and am doing what I absolutely love. Discipline moves you forward.
Discipline is defined as control gained by enforcing obedience; self control; orderly or prescribed conduct or pattern of behavior (as defined by Merriam-Webster). Sounds very military to me! What it basically means is that you change or control your behavior because you’re self-motivated to do something or are afraid of the punishment. I prefer no punishment please. Another way to look at discipline is to give up what you want now for what you want most later; learning to say no to things that don’t serve you right now.
For example: you want to buy a house before you turn 30 years old. In order to do that, you have to save up a down payment. That requires discipline to save money instead of spending it. Another example: I wanted to do a bodybuilding show my junior year in college. That meant no partying with my roommates, living a ridiculously scheduled lifestyle, training for hours a day (never again!), and absolutely no chocolate chip cookies! Discipline is that drive that makes you stick to your plan.
Discipline isn’t just for those in the military (or those raised by one). You can learn to be disciplined. When you sign up for class and come to class every week, that’s discipline. When you choose to go to bed early because you have to get up early, that’s discipline. However, when you put a home-made chocolate chip cookie (without nuts!) in front of me, discipline goes out the window! LOL! So how do you learn to be more disciplined?
- Avoid temptation: stay away from that which will tempt you. If you’re trying to not eat sweets, then don’t have them in the house. If you’re trying to save money, then don’t spend the afternoon shopping with a friend. Sounds obvious, but it works.
- Change your perception: Shift your perception of discipline. Think of it more as what you are gaining rather than something you’re giving up.
- Self-care: take care of yourself. If you are healthy, you feel stronger physically, mentally, and emotionally: Eat clean, exercise regularly, get adequate sleep, and stay hydrated.
- Short term goals: break your goals down into smaller portions. This makes them easier to accomplish in a faster time frame, which provides more motivation for you to keep going. I use the debt snowball technique when paying off school loans. I tackle the smaller balance first so I can pay it off quicker and it motivates me to keep going.
- Organize your day: Getting your day organized can help you feel less overwhelmed & more accomplished. Schedule appointments, including personal time, in your calendar and stick to them.
Forget that discipline is for the military or just something strict parents do. It’s for everyone who wants to accomplish something in their life. Whatever is personal and meaningful to you, you will find a way to make it happen.