Discipline: Some Have it, Some Need to Work on it

Discipline has become a four letter word to me. I once thought that I was a disciplined person. I tended to use my good grades from high school and college as an example. I thought pretty highly of myself since I was able to maintain those grades and work a job throughout high school and college. Then I was introduced to Jenny, my wonderful sister-in-law.

Jenny is the definition of disciplined! This girl rocked high school, graduated early from college with honors, and is now killing the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at USC. Not only that, she has done most of this while maintaining multiple jobs (sometimes up to four different jobs at a time)! Jenny is also able to maintain close relationships with her friends, an incredible workout schedule, and maintain a marriage and household. Jenny is definitely someone I look up to in the disciplined area (By the way she is going to kill me for writing about her today. She is extremely humble about these areas in her life as well. She really couldn't get much better.)

I am sure if I asked Jenny why she is so disciplined she would say because she had no other choice. Jenny has set high goals for herself and in order to reach those goals she has to be disciplined. Jenny learned early on that if she wanted to succeed and even exceed her expectations then she had to be willing to sacrifice.

Then we could talk about my parents and their discipline to workout. My dad has been an avid runner for a while now, clocking in almost a 100 miles in February. My mom decided in December of 2010 that working out was going to be one of her goals in 2011. My mom's goal was to head to the gym 3 times a week and within the first 3 months to run 2 miles in under 30 minutes. Let's just say she has been working out 5 times a week, met her running goal, and my parents even got in 5 days of working out on their cruise. This is discipline.

My parents are also examples to follow in regards to discipline in their walks with the Lord. Both of my parents have read the bible through the year and make spending time with the Lord daily a major part of their days.

I want discipline in my life in so many areas! But getting disciplined takes discipline! How in the world does one become disciplined when discipline is one of your struggles?

I have kept up with my bible reading in a year (with bumps along the way), but my memorization is lacking. How can I change this?  I see the positive impact that reading the bible daily has had on my life and I am excited to see what is in store for the future and yet I still do not do what I know is necessary to make those changes.

I am dissatisfied with my current health and desire to make some changes in both my eating habits and work out routine (or lack their of).  I had a slight meltdown this weekend about how I have gained weight and my clothes are not fitting like I would like them to. I know that many people would respond that positive body image is important and not to compare myself to others, but I also believe taking care of my body is something that I must be disciplined in. There is a balance between loving who you are and taking steps to have a positive impact on your body and health.

The Lord calls us to be disciplined in our lives. He has said that he will never leave us nor forsake us, so why am I so scared to be disciplined? Maybe I am not scared, but too weak to even try. I am a perfectionist by nature and my mindset has always been if I can't be perfect immediately then what is the point of trying. Yesterday our pastor, Dr. Lincoln spoke about how our aim should be the perfection of Christ and that we have to continue with "target practice" to get closer to that perfection. My Lord's desire for me is to desire perfection understanding that I will only achieve anything close with his help and I will never be complete until I am in heaven with him. I think that for too long I have decreased my expectations of myself to make them easier to meet. I have not pushed myself to achieve more than I was comfortably able to do. I desire this change in my life. I want to be ok with discipline and the hard work that it takes to grow in my life whether that be in my relationship with the Lord or with my health.

How have you grown in discipline in areas of your life?