My Journal for Life

Every good achievement in life comes to you through discipline. Different disciplines come naturally to different people. To some people routine exercise just feels comfortable, not so for most. You will sometimes have to work hard to acquire certain disciplines. You work at it until it becomes habitual, a lifestyle, and no longer such a burden. Discipline of action - turned into lifestyle - is how you make lifelong achievements. We all have desires that can give us motivation, but without the discipline to act nothing gets accomplished. For most people brushing our teeth became habitual, a daily routine, from discipline. Discipline from our parents telling us to brush. Then the routine became a desire to have nice teeth. Discipline is easily misunderstood, often related to scolding or punishment. In this case it means consistent - intentional - action. Forced "white knuckle" achievements are known to have little residual benefits. The difference between positive discipline and "white knuckle" is your internal dialog. Consider having to watch sports if you don't like sports, probably to please someone else. All the time sitting there probably saying to yourself "I hate this, I can't wait for it to be over". Using that kind of negative dialog you will always hate watching sports. This is "white knuckle" and will never help, long term. Now consider watching sports, and saying to yourself "that was an interesting play, I wonder why they did that". As simple as that, change your disdain to personal interest so sports won't be so uncomfortable. Use this principle in your discipline, positive internal dialog. Be in a good place mentally; think good to be good. For sanity and self-esteem you need to find satisfaction and serenity in the means - the process of achievement. Acknowledgement of your effort gives you inspiration from the accomplishment of your effort. A simple way to say that is, give yourself a pat-on-the-back because you're trying. Using MY JOURNAL FOR LIFE helps you acknowledge your efforts and accomplishments. Although achievements come through discipline it's important to know the difference between discipline and obsession. Obsessions promote negative thoughts and are always very destructive. If being a few pounds overweight starts to overwhelm your every thought and action it's time to refocus. Prioritize your personal battles, and consider your environmental and genetic situation. We all know how horrific and potentially fatal eating disorders are.