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PROGRAM D-7787
The “D” word—discipline—I know, it’s not your favorite topic; mine either. But you know, without daily disciplines in our lives, we are headed for trouble.
Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, warned us of this in the Proverbs. He said:
“. . . fools despise wisdom and discipline” (Proverbs 1:7b).
“. . . the corrections of discipline are the way to life” (Proverbs 6:23b).
“He who ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored” (Proverbs 13:18).
Solomon tells us that a person who acquires a disciplined life:
- has chosen the road to life
- has understanding
- is honored.
Do you want to be more disciplined? Are you willing to acquire it? Let’s look at those daily disciplines that we need to acquire:
The Discipline of Getting Up Early
“I’m not a morning person!” How many times have you said that? It’s one of the great clichés of our culture, and we have developed it into a one-sentence excuse that is seemingly acceptable justification for all sorts of usually unacceptable behavior. It’s as though we could take a blood test and discover something in our genes that causes this condition. “Aha,” the doctor says, looking at the results of your blood test, “I see that your cholesterol is a little high, and you are a little anemic—and, oh my, you’re not a morning person!”
I ask you, do you know anyone who is a morning person? Most of us, left to our own undisciplined nature, would not be morning people. The morning people you know are those who “just do it” because it makes the day so much easier and more productive.
Here are ten good reasons to get up early:
- You’ll get a lot more accomplished as an early-riser.
- You’ll be in a better mood all day.
- You’ll have less stress because you didn’t start your day in a hectic rush.
- You’ll be on-time or—better still—early at your job, and your boss will love you for that.
- You’ll have a leg-up on the competition.
- Your mind has its most energy and creativity immediately after rest, so you’ll have more good ideas and plans.
- Your relationships will improve because you will have more patience to deal with people.
- You can find some true quiet time in the morning hours, for meditation, communication with God, and becoming centered for the day ahead.
- You can beat some of the traffic and avoid the worst of the traffic jams.
- You’ll look better because you’ll have needed time for important grooming activities and clothes preparation!
The next question you may ask is, What is early? One person’s early is another person’s late. Who defines early, after all? Basically you have to figure out how much time you need in the morning in order to get off without being in panic mode, and that will tell you when you need to get up. For me I need to get up two to three hours before I leave the house in order to do what I need and want to do in those morning hours. It may be different with you, but believe me, getting up early is a great investment that will pay huge dividends.