The "D" word

A man once said, “Discipline is remembering what you want.”  I kind of agree with him, though I think I would change it to "Discipline is working for what you want."  I'm very capable of remembering without doing.  It's discipline that makes me get my butt up off the couch to do.

It's been a while since I've really demonstrated much discipline in my life outside of family, job, and church.  Those are kind of like automatics for me ... like breathing or blinking ... you just do them because it's part of your life.  But developing discipline in other areas is a whole nuther deal.  You see, I'm not a disciplined cyclist ... I'm a convenient cyclist.  I'm not a disciplined triathlete ... I'm a convenient triathlete.  

So I've been working on being more disciplined and here's what I've found ... I don't like it.  I like the results, but I don't like having to set boundaries or work too hard to achieve my goals.  I want it to come easy.  I want to lose weight without having to watch what or how much I eat.  I want to be faster without doing the drills that help make me faster.  I want to be well read and current without having to read.  There ... that's the ugly truth about me.

I think this whole discipline issue bleeds over to other areas of our lives ... both the lack of it and the cultivation of it.  So recently I have become more disciplined with my exercise, more disciplined with watching what I eat, and more disciplined with my spending.  That's not to say that I've mastered it, just working on it.  I'm hoping that those things will rub off to other areas like reading, time management, and putting stuff where it goes.  I'm working on the theory that discipline begets discipline.


What about you?  In what three areas do you need to develop more discipline?

I was more disciplined about working out this week ...

dailymile's use of awesome is probably closer to accurate this week.  I had to get up and do when I would rather stay down and don't, but it was worth it.  Eight workouts and over 4400 calories burned.  I need more weeks like that.


It paid off on the scales as well ...

Two pounds down!  MyFitnessPal.com has really helped out.  It has caused me to be more accountable about what and how much I eat.  Plus it has motivated me to workout more ... nothing like a one-hour bike ride to "buy" a thousand more calories of food.  Granted, it has only been one week but I like the added discipline it has given me concerning my diet.


I'll leave you with this from a guy named Paul ...
"Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come."


I'm just trying to stay healthy as long as possible so I can help others see the benefits in this life and in the life to come.  


Be disciplined,


bb