Start Small

Discipline is a major challenge for many people. I envy those that have a lot of it. I have some, but not nearly as much as I wish. Discipline is doing things you know you should and doing them even when you don't want to. Going for a run even when it’s raining. Eating healthy even though you enjoy sweets and fattening foods. Staying organized and putting things away instead of leaving them for later. They say it takes 60 days to build a habit. But it takes a lot of discipline to get through 60 days. The following from Developing the Leader Within You are steps you can take to get through those first 60 days.

1. List five areas in your life that lack discipline.

2. Place them in order of your priority for conquering them.

3. Take them on, one at a time.

4. Secure resources, such as books or tapes, that will give you instruction and motivation to conquer each area.

5. Ask a person who models the trait you want to possess to hold you accountable for it.

6. Spend fifteen minutes each morning getting focused in order to get control of the weak area in your life.

7. Do a five-minute checkup on yourself at midday.

8. Take five minutes in the evening to evaluate your progress.

9. Allow sixty days to work on one area before you go to the next.

10. Celebrate with the one who holds you accountable as you show continued success

What habit are you trying to build in 2023?