Embracing discipline: picking up where I left off
I told my best friend I was exhausted because I kept going to bed late. Her response was “What happened to not receiving text messages after 22:00 and going to bed early?” She reminded me of a time when I was disciplined and did my best daily to stick to that commitment. My reply was “Don’t know how it happened, but I have to pick that up again.” Little did I know that within a week, I was going to make a change.
On the 17th of September we started a two-week revival conference in church. I don’t know what was different about this particular conference – because we’ve had many – but this time I wanted to be serious about it and attend every single service. Yes, every single service. I was about to attend church service every evening (excluding Saturdays) and Sunday mornings for two whole weeks. I hadn’t done that before, but I was up for the challenge. And then I thought why not add an extra challenge by waking up at 6:00 every morning (I usually wake up at 7:00, sometimes snooze until 7:30, and then finally get up at 7:45). This would allow me to go work early and then leave early so I could get home and rest a little before I made my way to church.
It was not easy, but I did it. In two weeks, I woke up at 6:00 daily, got to work by 8:00 and went to church 12 times. It’s crazy, but I’m glad I did it, because I needed the challenge (and the prayers!). But I didn’t stop there, I kept waking up early because I actually liked it. I rediscovered that I am very much a morning person and I’ve been a lot more productive ever since. I’ve noticed that my focus is much better and the days at work seem to fly by. Until now, I’ve kept it up because of the great benefits and I’m determined to be that disciplined person again.
One of the things that helped me stay disciplined these past months is my daily planner that I created back in 2021 during my sabbatical. Even without work commitments, I still used a planner to keep a structured life and maintain habits. Do you see the level of discipline I’m trying to get back to? I recently started using the planner again to do just that.
Being disciplined requires a desire to change and a reason for that change. My reason was that I needed to see more growth and progress in my life, and I knew discipline would help me get there. With my daily planner, I get to think about the most important task for the day that will prepare me for my future. And then I make sure I get that done. I created it for 90 days, because a year is too long, a month too short, but 3 months (±90 days) just feel like enough time to get certain things done. Since I picked it up again, the planner has benefited me greatly and it might benefit you too. Feel free to download the digital version of the planner here (it’s not free, but it’s cheap!) and keep enjoying it over and over. Shameless plug here, but I believe it works. (Please note that the planner works best on an iPad with an Apple Pencil and Goodnotes … or you could print it) I also believe that it being undated allows you to start at any time and it takes pressure off of you when you miss a day. I guess this is an invitation for you to join me on this journey of discipline and reaping its benefits in the future.
I’d like to end this post with a quote I heard a while back: “a lack of discipline will have you praying for a miracle”. For example, if you’re not disciplined with your finances, you might get to a place where you’ll have to pray for a miracle because things went wrong. Don’t be that person. Have discipline and get yourself where you want to be in life.
