Discipline

Today's word is often mistaken in the form it takes and becomes something else entirely - punishment. Discipline has positive rewards; punishment has negative results. Self-discipline comes from a place of wanting to grow and stretch, to strive for betterment out of love and respect for ourselves and a higher calling. Punishment on the other hand, is self-defeating. It is exacting and berating and nothing that belittles the soul can help to uplift it.

Many times we don't reach our goals because we say we lack self-discipline, when the truth is many times we simply have an abundance of self-defeating beliefs and behaviors that end up sabotaging our efforts and best intentions.

Today's Exercise:

Reconsider a goal that you have not yet achieved. What are your motivations for wanting to achieve this? How have you gone about reaching this goal? Do you talk yourself down, or convince yourself you can't reach it? Do you approach your goal from a place of love and respect? What are your real intentions behind this goal? Are they from a higher place of love, or from a lower place that already sees failure present somehow?

Remember that berating ourselves, or going for a goal because we feel we are "not enough" already is self-defeating and punishing. How can you rearrange your action plan to focus on challenge and reward, rather than consequences and/or negative results.

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