“The first and best victory is to conquer self.”
When Plato first said this, do you think he was the discoverer of this concept? I would be willing to bet he wasn’t. Any man or woman, since the beginning of time, who has taken stock of themselves and what holds them back, knows this truth.
We could apply many ideas that would be appropriate for what Plato said…doubt, fear, greed, impatience, go ahead…think of a few more…it’ll be easy!
For today, lets apply this to an over-reaching one: self-discipline. Self-discipline is a key indicator in what will happen in any area of someone’s life. Without it, we will struggle with health, relationships, and endeavors.
For me, the development of self-discipline was a game-changer. I was terribly undisciplined for many years of my adult life, and results in all aspects of life were reflective of this. I started to create discipline by doing a few things and committing to do them daily (reading and exercise)…after a while these became beneficial habits that made improvements in my life and also fostered the belief in myself that I could be disciplined.
From there I began applying this concept to everything I ever tried to accomplish. Self-discipline has been a partner in all of the successes God has blessed me with. I rarely am speedy in my endeavors…I simply start, carve out a little time every day…and do it until I get where I am trying to go.
There is no magic…self-discipline is the “do it whether you feel like it or not” mentality that is the companion to “do what you need to do before you do what you want to do” and they are both partnered with “do it a step at a time daily until you reach your goal.”
Just for today, discipline yourself to do what you need to do before you do what you want to do, whether you feel like it or not, and even if it is just a tiny step. And then do it again tomorrow.
