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Self-inflicted suffering—got any of that going on in your life right now? I’m examining things we do to make our own lives much more difficult and miserable. For example, we’ve seen how bitterness and self-pity are always self-inflicted, and are they ever miserable. But you can stop being bitter and shut down your pity parties any time you choose to.
Another suffering we inflict on ourselves is lack of discipline. Discipline does not come easy for me. I don’t think discipline is much fun, to tell you the truth. And it would be very easy for me to be an undisciplined person.
But what I’ve learned—and am learning—is discipline is the necessary path to success and achievement. It is essential for turning dreams into realities and visions into accomplishments. But if you’re not willing to put needed disciplines into your life, you are inflicting some costly suffering on yourself.
For example, without being disciplined in your eating habits and exercise, you are not going to live as long, not going to have as much energy, and are much more likely to catch diseases and be ill.
Poor work habits are another example. When people are habitually late for work, fail to follow-through, aren’t dependable, and do their work in a sloppy manner, it’s because they are undisciplined. And that leads to lost opportunities, lost pay increases, maybe even lost jobs! All self-inflicted from poor discipline in key areas.
There are many other examples I could cite but the question is, how do you become more disciplined? I would encourage you to find ways to impose discipline in your life. What works for you? For me, I use gimmicks and journals and time management techniques and reminders and self-rewards—all kinds of things to help me be the disciplined person I know I must be to accomplish what I want to accomplish.
Choose one area where your discipline is weak and pray about it every day. Ask God to strengthen you for discipline in that area. Then look for accountability and gimmicks to help you impose discipline in that area. Work on one area at a time, because when you are successful there, it will encourage you to be successful in other areas. Proverbs says we can die from lack of discipline.