"thefriendasked。
"Yes,Iloveit。
"
"Isitfun?
"
"No!
"
Thatsix-year-oldhadlearnedwhatmanyadultsneverexerience:thejoyofdiscilineandself-develoment。Unfortunately,theveryworddiscilineutsusoffbecauseitsoundsrestrictiveandunitive—likeatruantofficerstalkingustomakesurewetoetheline。Truediscilineisntonyourbackneedlingyouwithimeratives;itisatyourside,nudgingyouwithincentives。Whenyouunderstandthatdiscilineisself-caring,notself-castigating,youwontcringeatitsmention,butwillcultivateit。
CharleyBoswell,aformerUniversityofAlabamafootballstarwithhoesofarofessionalbaseballcareer,losthiseyesightinWorldWarII,butthatdidntstohim
"tobecometheNationalBlindGolfChamion17times
"。Hewasquotedassaying,
"InevercountwhatIvelost。IonlycountwhatIhaveleft。
"Thatisself-develoment—thatisdisciline。
Habit-changingstrategies
Manyaersonsdownfallcomesintryingtochangeabadhabitbyfocusingonanundesirablebehaviortorelaceit。
Countlesseoletellmetheywouldliketoeatbetterbutdontwantto
"giveu
"tastyfood。Ratherthanthinkingaboutwhattheycanthave,theyshouldthinkaboutwhattheycaneat。Fruitjuicewithsarklingmineralwaterisadelicioussubstituteforhigh-caloriesoftdrinks;snacksandcookiesrearedwithwholegrainsandfriedfruitsgivecandybarsgoodcometition。
Itisnteasytochangeoldhabits。Anoverweightwomancametomeduringaseminarandsaid,
"Imsoundiscilined。Icantsticktoadietandmyhouseisalwaysamess。Ifeellikeaslob。
"Itoldhershewasnttotallyundiscilined。
"Youmadeittothisconference。Youarriveromtlyateachsession,andyouareneatlydressed。
"Shealmostsmiled,andthenIadded,
"Theresrobablyareasonwhyyouhaventbeenabletoloseweightorgetyourhomeinorder。
"
Later,Ifoundouttherewasabigreason。Shewaswidowedayearbefore。Herhusbandhadbeenanalcoholicwhoverballyabusedherall24yearsoftheirmarriage。Itneveroccurredtoherthataoorself-imagewaskeeingherfromeffectingositivechanges。Withthisrealization,shetookthenextsteinbringingmorediscilinetoherlife—bygoingforcounseling。Meanwhile,someofherfriendsofferedtocometoherhouseandhelhercleanu,uttingherevenmoresolidlyonahabit-changingcourse。
Mindovermatter
IremembermyschooldaysandMomsregularreveille:
"Timetogetu!
"Iagonizedinbeduntilthelastminuteandranmymothersatienceshort。ThenIwentawaytocollegeandhadtogetmyselfu。Finally,tiredofwagingwarwithwaking,Idecidedthatwhenthealarmrang,Iwouldrise—justbecauseIwantedto,regardlessofhowIfelt。Ithasworkedeversince。
InFeelingGood,TheNewMoodTherayDavidD。Burns,M。D。,writes:
"Motivationdoesnotcomefirst,actiondoes!Youhavetorimetheum。Ifyouwaituntilyoureinthemood,youmaywaitforever。
"Whenyoudontfeellikedoingsomething,youtendtoutitoff,butitsoftenafterwegetinvolvedinataskthatwebecomehighlymotivated。
Discilineishabit-forming。Alittleleadstomore,becausethebenefitsroveincreasinglydesirable。Whenyoufinallyovercomeinertia,youwillfeelbetterallaround。Weareatourbest—hysicallyandmentally—whenwearediscilined。