‘Discipline is self-love.
But also
(Dictionary definition)
dis·ci·pline
noun
the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience. “a lack of proper parental and school discipline.”
But also
“My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.”
Proverbs 3:11-12.
Discipline is a measure of self-love, investing in ourselves and moving from the engine of self-belief.
I’d say the crux of the situation is this:
How do we make ourselves do stuff we don’t feel like doing?
Or do we evolve our life in such a way that we start doing the stuff we know we should be doing as a result of resetting dopamine and prolonged good behavior?
Take this moment I’m in right now, for instance…
It’s 4:30 am, and I am writing. However, the last two days I’ve been way off course and woke up late, indulged in junk food, and generally felt lost and aimless.
The discipline of getting back on track becomes much easier because it feels much better to have the direction that the discipline of waking up early and writing provides than allowing myself to descend full-time into aimlessness.
“For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews.
No one will hold your hand and walk you up the mountain top of a fulfilling life.
The encouragement and the courage for that need to come from within, from your higher self and from God, which our relationships we also must cultivate.
For our lower self will simply not feel like it, especially after the newness of our self-improvement venture wears off (or if we are mired by bad habits and have yet to begin).
The newness will wear off.
We must often ignore our feelings.
The world promotes the idea that we should worship our feelings and be guided by them.
But this is wrong. Our feelings will often lead us straight into our comfort zone, depressed and soft.
It takes discipline because you will put some effort toward a plan, and no one will care, or you’ll get some funky comments.
And the negative voices in your mind will dominate, and your inspiration to do more will be gone, and you’ll miss a couple of days of your routine.
And you’ll want to go back to your lazy comfort zone.
Your lazy comfort zone will call you from a shadowy pillow.
It will say, “Come to me, come to me.”
And lethargy will dominate.
Prepare for this inevitability because it is this hurdle that you must overcome over and over and over again on the way to a dream fulfilled.
It’s the same hurdle we all must overcome. I’m overcoming it now!
“For this reason, I remind you to fan into the flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.”
2 Timothy 1:6-7.
God gives us power, love, and self-discipline, and those three aspects are synonymous with each other.
Power is discipline. Discipline is love, etc.
What I like about this verse is we are instructed to fan into the flame of God’s gift.
Cultivate our gift, explore it, and overcome our voices of negativity and fear, which lead to laziness and fear.
Fan into the flame. Encourage ourselves through action and discipline.
Our feelings are not our friend.
Our feelings are rooted in faulty thinking, tricking us into self-imposed limitations.
In other words, we won’t be able to overcome our old limitations by listening to the mechanisms that created those limitations in the first place.
Our thoughts and our feelings.
But rather, remind ourselves that our thoughts and our feelings are more often demonic principalities sent from a broken past or demonic future to throw us off our grind or our time fanning the flame of God’s gifts.
So, are we listening to instead?
“Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid.”
Proverbs 12:1.
So, if we are not making a God of our feelings, if we are not allowing thoughts and feelings to be our North Star, what then is leading us?
The answer is routine and habit. A habit that becomes a routine. A routine that becomes a habit.
Beginning our days very early and plugging our minds into presence/meditation and prayer first thing, and then some form of creative work towards whatever our vision for the future or purpose may be.
The early morning creative energy is unsurpassed, is vital, and is productivity on steroids compared to midday, after your mind has been trampled by social media and an influx of endless information, or the gossip and dramas of the world.
I would go so far as to say the birthplace of discipline is in the morning routine. The birth of the day.
Days when I miss my 4 or 4:30 am wake-up/work session are scattered and hard to rope into purpose and discipline that feels like I can actually move the needle on my life.
I won’t give up entirely on days like that and will still try and do a few things here and there.
But the difference is profound.
When I get at least two focused hours of creative work in upon first waking up, one can move mountains if this becomes routine. And a discipline one plugs themselves into no matter how they “feel.”
Next for me is physical exercise, breathwork, meditation/prayer, and yoga.
I mean, there really is nothing much new under the sun regarding discipline.
Which is perhaps a good thing.
Get up early, pray/meditate, (don’t check phone/social media), creative work 2-3 hours (towards purpose/vision of future), then physical fitness (yoga/lifting/running/swimming…whatever you fancy).
That’s basically it.
And from there, cultivate these habits until the only dopamine you allow yourself to have is produced from the work you do towards the vision for your future.
And any time you stumble or fall off course (those times will happen), you simply course correct and get back on track.
“Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.”
Revelation 3:19.
Discipline is love on the path of fanning the flame within.
The flame of God’s gift and grace for a joyful life of abundance and offering.
