I’m writing this blog from my outside office as I bask in the last warm rays of the sun and watch them slowly sink below the west mountains before giving way to the cool fall evening. I pause… reflect…and move on with my thoughts about self-discipline…
Martial arts require a tremendous amount of self discipline. Photo: Glen Edelson on Flickr
Self-discipline has always been a wrestling match between what I want to do and what’s good for me. Do I go to bed early like I “should” so I’m fresh for the next day? OR do I stay up late and tie up loose ends at work? OR catch up on my favorite TV program? OR finish an informational YouTube video I started earlier? OR <fill in the blank>.
There are so many good choices. How do you know which are the best choices? The BEST choices require SELF DISCIPLINE. Sometimes getting it all done isn’t realistic. How do you balance it out and not feel guilty if you’re not ON TASK and MAKING THINGS HAPPEN and PRODUCTIVE?
Self-discipline for me is full of words like “I should”, “I have to”, “I can’t because..” and sometimes doesn’t feel right. Does that ever happen to you?
Last summer I received a quote from my friend and Life Coach, Cynthia Wand, who supported me over this past year in looking at my quality of self-discipline and who has been a stand for me growing and developing that virtue of the heart. It has changed my perspective on how I view self-discipline. I’d like to share it with you:
“Self-discipline is king! Think of it as being a disciple of your Self. It’s about being obedient to that which you KNOW serves other’s and your highest good. To the food we put into our temples, to the thoughts we think, to the words we use in our relationships and even the time we go to bed! 🙂 Self-discipline, not from a place of feeling denied of pleasures, but from a place of spiritual commanding authority! “This is what I know to be right and for my highest good, right now!” ~Cynthia Wand
For me, this way of looking at it brings all the love and heart back into self-discipline.
I invite you to explore this virtue in your yoga and practice “what you know to be right and for your highest good in the moment.”