Discipline I have to admit that if I am seriously lacking one major virtue, it's discipline. (Okay, my family might say that it's patience, but that's a discussion for another time!) What is discipline and why does it seem to elude me, despite my efforts to change? According to Random House, discipline is "training to act in accordance to rules." Well, that pretty much explains my resistance, doesn't it? I feel like a naughty child (or is it a puppy?) who must be "trained up right." And you could say that I have a certain... shall we call it "aversion"?... to rules. And not to rules in general, just the ones that apply to me! But here's the deal: The Law of the Universe cannot NOT be followed! It's kind of like the law of gravity. It's there, working all of the time, whether you "believe in it" or not! And sometimes we humans say, "No! I am NOT subject to this law!" And we make a Herculean effort and create a mega-machine to carry us beyond the reaches of gravity. But did you know that even the moon, not just of this planet, but of every planet, is subject to gravity? See, no matter how far we fly, the Law is always working. So my point here is this: I can either be "trained to act in accordance to" the Law, or I can continue to fight and squirm and, yes, whine about "having" to follow the rules. Okay, so what is the Law that I'm talking about here? Well, I think that the relevant law here is the Law of Circulation: As you sow, so shall you reap. A lot of people take this law to be about money, and of course it can be applied to our financial life with great results. But what I really mean here is Effort In = Results (or lack thereof). Whenever my Dad is frustrated with a computer program, he always blames the programmer: "Garbage in, garbage out." (It is absolutely beyond my father's understanding to EVER blame or harm a machine. He's convinced that machines have souls!) So if I'm working on, say, my latest book, and I am not disciplined in my approach, I am sowing faulty seed and I will reap a meagre harvest. Okay, I know that in my head. So how do I make a major change in my life? 1. Make a detailed contract with myself regarding what is to be done. 2. Create several places of accountability: my partner, myself, and my MasterMind group are some of mine. 3. Give myself a reward for completing the task! (My reward is usually chocolate.) There's one other way that I'm learning to rely on when it comes to discipline: I have to go within, check in, and make sure that what I'm doing is absolutely right for me at that moment. It's a lot easier to settle down to an afternoon of writing when I know that my Higher Self is cheering me on!
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