Being disciplined is something I think deep down all of us really want to be. We all have the intent of being disciplined but we don’t always follow through on the intent.
We want to be disciplined in what we eat but we slip up and eat 10 mini brownies that we shouldn’t have even bought in the first place (confession 🙂 ), We say we will be in better shape but we quit working out after we’ve done good for about a month. We say we really want to work on our hobbies whether it’s crafting, reading a new book, taking a class or whatever but the drive to do it seems to dissipate.
What discipline really is
Discipline is simply choosing to make daily choices that align with what you want, and who you want to be in the future.
The art of discipline is just that. It’s choosing to make those daily choices that align with what you want and who you want to be in the future. It’s that simple. I think we get overwhelmed because we think to be disciplined we’ve got to be this “perfect” person who never messes up… only Jesus is that person.
Here’s two simple steps to become the disciplined person you’ve always wanted to be. I believe if you do these two things you’ll set yourself up for success.
2 steps to become disciplined:
- Decide what you want in the future
Let’s not make this complicated. Decide what you want in the future, it could be anything really, it’s your future! Maybe you want a newer house, to start a business, stop drinking soda, have a bigger paycheck (hello!), to workout more, or maybe to get closer to God.
It’s super important to name what it is you want and let that be your vision.
Where there is no vision, the people perish (Proverbs 29:18)
It is extremely difficult to accomplish something if you don’t have a vision for what you want.
2. Write down daily tasks that will help you get there
Let’s say you are the person that wants to quit drinking soda. If you determine that what you want is to quit drinking soda, write down daily that you won’t drink it. Remind yourself and remove the temptation by not buying at the grocery store.
If buying a new home is what you want, write down the amount of money you’ll need for a down payment and then don’t stop saving until you get that number. Write it down somehwere you can see it everyday.
If you are the person who wants to be better at working out, make a weekly list in your phone (this is what I do personally) before the week even starts of the days you will work out that particular week. Deciding it before hand helps a lot! There will be days that you’ve written down and then when the day gets there something comes up and you can’t go, it happens. But writing it down is key.
Let’s say you want to get closer to God, set a reminder in your phone to go off daily reminding you to take time to pray. I think of God like a relationship, you won’t get very close to the person if you don’t spend time with them. Write down on your daily tasks list that you’ll have a prayer time. Download the Youversion Bible app, that is a great resource to pray and read devotionals. You can also check out some of my content on getting closer to God found in my Christianity section.
Let’s say your job is hourly, if you want a bigger paycheck but you keep calling in to work because you don’t want to go in that particular day. This is what you did: You traded what you wanted in the moment for what you won’t get in the future- a bigger paycheck.
Writing down daily tasks helps a ton I’m telling you. Or putting your tasks in a task manager also is a GREAT idea. I recently switched up from keeping my personal projects I’m working on from a whiteboard to a task manager called Trello.
Small daily choices equal big results later
I’m learning this myself and becoming disciplined is a journey. It’s like a marathon if you’re a runner. Discipline is something I don’t think you can just say you want and it happen instantly. Maybe, if that’s you congratulations! For most of us, discipline is just making daily choices that align with what we want and who we want to be.
Let me know if you’ve got any tips or tricks you’ve learned along the way! Thanks for reading and may you be blessed on your disciplined journey 🙂
Bryant Westbrook 