The first chapter of 2018 has been kind to me. Although, I think, a closer description would be that I’ve harnessed it to be kind. Self discipline; I’ve been flexing that formerly limp muscle to great effect.
Being a highly-sensitive hippy, of sorts, I’ve often allowed my heart-based feelings to dictate what happens next. “Meh, I don’t feel like cardio today, maybe fifteen minutes of resistance instead.’ Yet according to numerology, my life purpose is to find freedom through discipline, focus and depth of experience.
I grew up with regimented household routine. At 8am, come rain or shine, my parents got up. At 1pm on a Sunday the Roast was served, 4pm-not a quarter after- was teatime. Being naturally rebellious, I burst out of the stifling confines of routine. The very word causes an involuntary curl of the lip.
I love adventure, both externally through travel and internally through practices such as yoga and meditation. I will not let dogged, mindless routine sap an impulse to experience what a moment invites me to do or be.
But this year I’ve learned there’s a lot to be said for a certain amount of structure and self discipline to do things in spite of feelings. Yes, I’ve always been committed to health and wellness, but this year I’ve sprinkled in consistency and discipline.
Show yourself, through self discipline, that you are limitless
I’m currently halfway through Beachbody’s 80 Day Obsession. Being so absorbed (obsessed)! by a program which demands self discipline has translated not only into a stronger body than I’ve ever lived in before, but a stronger mind too. I’ve also been practicing-with unwavering dedication- RPM (rise, pee, meditate). When my boss and friend at the yoga studio I teach at suggested I host a workshop, I immediately knew meditation would be the topic I’d share.
An attitude of warm self discipline leads to results, to dreams even, to self respect, to a momentum of motivation in all aspects of your life. Its about showing up, even when you don’t feel like it, digging deep to fulfill a commitment to yourself. In doing so, you are demonstrating that no matter what, you show up for you. And I guarantee if others witness you doing so, they will show up for you too.
Self discipline may be a weak muscle for you too, at present. But my friend, work it! Choose something in your life and make it happen. The first few weeks are usually the most challenging, yet once you’ve surmounted that hurdle, momentum and habit and the strength of your resolve will propel you forward. Begin today.
Imagine a bird soaring high above, feeling one kind of freedom.
To experience life fully
it must land and go through
the arduous task of building a nest.
Through this discipline comes another kind of freedom,
to experience the depths of life.
How have you felt free,
and how have you felt trapped?
Can you apply the discipline in your life
to explore the depths and, in those depths,
to find another kind of freedom?
Adventure is not outside, it is within
David Grayson (page 61, ‘The Life You Were Born to Live,’ Dan Millman)