Discipline Is Freedom (Day 21 of 30)

We often think of discipline as being the antithesis of freedom, but in reality they are intimately connected.

If you really want something, you must move through discipline to get there.

Let’s take time as an example - the most valuable commodity of all. Many of my us complain about not having enough time and say we are too busy to engage in self-care or look for our dream job. But what if I told you there is always enough time. Time never changes. It’s simply what you make time mean and how you use it.

If you want more time, you must be more disciplined in your daily time management. Discipline is your ticket to freedom. Discipline in this area might involve clarifying your time priorities, aligning your schedule accordingly, planning your days, putting everything on the calendar, delegating when needed, going to bed on time, getting up early, not wasting time on social media or TV shows you don’t care about, saying NO, asking for help, and managing your urges to follow distractions, etc. If you did all this daily, would you really not have time for what is important in your life?

Discipline is the your ability to have self-control and restraint against base primitive desires. It takes some mind management and planning, but it is something that can be created and grown. It starts with your thoughts. If you have a negative attitude towards discipline it is going to be hard to make any progress in this area. Unfortunately, our culture perpetuates a negative association with discipline. Personally, my negative association with it goes all the way back to grade school with strict teachers using rulers on my palms to help me memorize poems or my parents spanking me for punishment. The memories make my whole body cringe. Ouch! But what if you decided to see discipline in a positive light? As something that serves you! Maybe even fun. For example, I see my triathlon training as fun and serving my health goals.

The key to cultivating discipline is to A) set expectations and rules for yourself ahead of time and then B) honor it because you always have your own back. When you do this you don’t have to use willpower and restraint when an urge or challenge presents itself. If the decision and rules are made ahead of time, it allows you to be more proactive and less reactive in the moment. My kids showed mastery in this when they decided to become vegetarians a few years ago. They very clearly set their goal, rules (no exceptions), and they honored it 100% of the time. So when they are in moments of temptations, the decision is already made. Now they have this amazing track record of honoring their commitments and creating a relationship of integrity with oneself.

When you honor your decisions you create a track record of showing up for yourself that you can rely on in other areas of your life. So discipline in one area of your life starts to reverberate into other areas of your life - financial, health, you name it. If you want more financial freedom, you have to embody more financial discipline. If you want better health, you must be disciplined in your food and lifestyle choices. Just plan ahead, honor your choices, and manage your mind when challenges inevitably present themselves. Freedom and success will follow as a result.

✨See you tomorrow for Day 22 of 30 lessons learned from 2019!

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