More Discipline

Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” I tend to agree. When thinking of self discipline it’s easier to go into a negative mindset and think of how little discipline I possess. It’s more challenging to take a step back, think of what I’ve accomplished, and the improvements I’ve made.

I’ve written about some of the benefits of exercising more discipline, but there’s another side of the coin. Some of the consequences I’ve faced are things I don’t want to experience again. My failures outnumber ny successes in many areas. You can say I have resilience. I say I have a mission. I am living to fulfill my purpose. That’s my mentality today, but before I discovered the reason I was created, I behaved differently.

I bounced from job to job, career to career with no thought, no vision, no plan whatsoever. If confronted and asked, I would say “I just want to be happy.” At th time my thoughts were probably along the lines of pursuing happiness. After assessing my career choices I discovered it wasn’t about finding happiness, but truly about learning new things. I was happiest when learning new things. I didn’t strive to be the absolute best at whatever I did. I wanted to possess a working knowledge and competence, but mastery was something I never strived for. In part because in my min, mastery meant I would be pigeon holed into one particular thing. Freedom, in part, means being able to do whatever I want, for as long as I want, with whomever I want. I couldn’t possibly do those things if I had to be at the office or a car dealership or some other job.

All of the careers, all the positions I’ve held, all of the tests and certifications I passed and possessed are the consequences from lack of discipline. My inability to adhere to a code of behavior led to those things. After discovering, defining, and working towards fulfilling my purpose, I’ve had one career. I write. I may write a novel, a sales letter, video sales letter, an email series, or white paper, but I write. I’ve studied and still study from some of the best writers in history. I practice and work on perfecting or mastering my craft.

Discipline has its benefits. Discipline also has its consequences. Today, I know my choices and decisions determine which of those things I experience. Experience may indeed be the best teacher. It’s been my experience that my life is exponentially better when I adhere to a code of behavior - when I am disciplined.

Today, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, I am grateful that:

Our power was restored. It’s summer and this is by far the hottest summer I’ve experienced since living here. It didn’t take long to begin feeling the heat and this was almost as bad as post Typhoon Odette.

A couple more items of creativity are coming to mind. The ideas are a sign that I’m recovering. Not racing thoughts, but rather, new thoughts and ways to connect processes and practices from several industries into another industry.

Although disrupted this morning, I was able to continue my writing. I know now, not like before, that others will read these and some may come to depend on them. Now it’s becoming more about not letting others down or disappointin

This is the first part of the entry.