And then you get the lesson.
Life is a school. If we want to make the most of our blessings and gifts we must look forward, envision what we aspire to, understand what is necessary to develop in us, and begin to discipline ourselves to do the work and learn the lessons to reach the aspiration.
If we don’t approach it this way…then we will have the experience of having the test, and then learning the lesson . We are going to have some of this anyway as a matter of course, because we don’t know what we don’t know and life happens such that things we couldn’t possibly have forseen arise.
But we can minimize a lot of the pain and struggle if we will simply be self-disciplined in the preparation and practice. Work on yourself physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally, everyday, and you will be much more prepared for anything life throws at you. Then apply this same discipline to your pursuits. A step or two per day goes a long way eventually. But you can’t get the steps not taken back. You can’t cram all your steps in at once…there is no learning there….two students take a test in December….one studied a little everyday for three months. The other studied for 24 hours the day before. They both pass the test, but only one of the students will be able to apply the knowledge going forward…because through discipline they own the knowledge for life…not just for a day.
I taught myself discipline…by making a point to be disciplined…..I went from a very un-disciplined person to one where my discipline is a strength. How? I set little disciplines daily and made sure I did them. The practice of this then became part of my fabric. I did this with exercise and reading…but it applies to all things now.
“What we do on some great occasion will depend on what we are; and what we are will be the result of previous years of self-discipline.”-H.P. Liddon
Develolp a proactive self-discipline in life. Otherwise you will have no choioce but to be reactively self-disciplined…and this isn’t fun. Think about that.
