Growing up I wasn’t a terrible child, but on more than one occasion I had cause to need to be disciplined. This amounted to my father saying his now infamous words, “This is going to hurt me more than it is going to hurt you,” a few swats on my butt and guidance and direction to not do what I had done again. This process was one that unfortunately occurred with some frequency with three children all choosing to learn the hard way how to grow up. Being disciplined became something that I feared and associated with a negative connotation. I never quite understood how it “hurt him” more than me. And unfortunately, many times I learned why not to do something (it would result in a spanking) instead of why to do something (it would please my parents, God, was just generally the right thing, etc.).

Fast forward to today, and I still have this negative connotation of discipline in my head. I can’t seem to shake it, and at times I wonder if I simply avoid all forms of discipline in an effort to ensure I don’t mess up.

However, where there is a glimmer of hope lies in the recent admiration of those who are disciplined and not those that receive discipline. What do I mean? Let me give some examples.

PARENTING

There are those who are disciplined in their approach to parenting. They lay their kid down at the exact same time every night without fail, 8 PM sharp for one couple we know. They do this EVERY day. If you want to eat dinner with them, that is great, and they will be excellent dinner host or companions, however at 7:45 PM they will excuse themselves and come back 15 minutes later with their 2 children tucked safely into bed. EVERY NIGHT! That is crazy discipline. There are so many cool things that happen at 8 PM, summer concert series, reverse happy hours, the middle part of the movie you started after dinner, and yet they have placed such a priority on their children that they are disciplined enough to forgo all of this in trying to ensure their children’s successes the following day. AMAZING!

Another approach that I am in awe of is those who are able to commit to the “Baby-wise” model. Having a 4-month old now, I am sort of wishing we would have been more dedicated to this method from the on-set. (I know it is not too late for us, but we also sort of have our thing figured out too.) For those that are unfamiliar with Baby-wise, I highly recommend it. I listened to the book on audio while we were preparing for Biscuit to get here. It was great! Once she got here, we weren’t as dedicated to the regiment as it required and got off-course in week two. We lacked the discipline. However, for those that we have seen it work for, it is amazing! A baby sleeping through the night at 6-8 weeks!!! ARE YOU KIDDING!!! If you are interested in checking out the book, you can find it here.
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Parenting discipline is one area that I am enamored with. Another is that of discipline in one’s self.

SELF

Have you ever wondered how in the world does someone run a marathon?!?! It seems literally insane to me. However, it is insanely admirable that someone would have the discipline to train for most of a year to compete in something that is over in one morning. These unique individuals have a true discipline to self that is not like most. When they set their mind to something you know, it will be accomplished, and it is best for you to simply stand back in awe of the beauty that will take place while they set about accomplishing their goals.

Photo by Brett Sayles on Pexels.com

The same can be said of those who undergo dramatic weight loss, wake up daily for a morning quiet time of prayer and reading, teach themselves a new language, or simply always have a positive attitude. All of these are examples of a true discipline to self and ensuring that the goals you have set for yourself are goals that are accomplished, because after all, you set them for yourself so they must be your most important goals!

I use the Full Focus Planner by Michael Hyatt to help ensure I meet my goals. I have been working with this for 6 months and love it! Check it out here https://amzn.to/2MFgCe6 

You can also see this insane discipline play out in one’s career path.

CAREER

For my best example of an insane discipline when it comes to one’s career, I need look no further than my friend and mentor who told me at 25 that he planned to be a community college president and then dramatically altered his life to ensure that every necessary step was taken in the proper order to realize his dream 12 years later. (In case you are wondering, that makes him a community college president at 37 = INSANE DISCIPLINE!!!)

This is just one example though, there are countless others who see the next step along their career trajectory, analyze where they currently are, and then set about being disciplined in their areas of need to ensure they are highly competitive for the next level of their career. Sometimes it looks like being the first one in and the last one to leave, though more commonly I am observing individuals who are simply laser focused with their time while in the office and are still able to have a life outside of the office. This focus and discipline pays off over time. They are recognized for their hard work, and if not promoted from within, usually someone calls them from the outside and encourages them to apply for a position at another institution because of the connections that they were able to make while being so disciplined.

Knowing Your WHY!

All of this brings me back to my original dilemma. All those years ago I learned how to be disciplined by someone else disciplining me (not that anything was wrong with this, I earned it, I also now better understand how my father would say this will hurt him more than me disciplining a child you love so much has to be hard) but now I must realize why I must be disciplined in myself to better my family, self, and career.

If you have any helpful tips, please do share in the comments or private message me.

Best of luck to all as you seek to become more disciplined yourself!

A quick shot of Biscuit at her 1st baseball game to help you remember why you push yourself to get better. (She thought since Yelich was batting she would yell for him! She also had to represent her Texas Rangers with her shoes!)