What do you think of when you hear the word discipline?
I think about correcting my kids’ behavior.
But we’re not talking about the kids today.
We’re talking about you. And me.
Imagine waking up to a sink full of dirty dishes, food crumbs all over the table and floor, yesterday’s coffee dregs still in the carafe. Makes me want to go back to bed just thinking about it!
More often than not, when I feel overwhelmed it’s due to a series of choices I’ve made that are not in line with the life I want to create.
Some of the self care ideas I share here are closely tied to self-discipline. Unlike a bubble bath or a pedicure, these activities aren’t necessarily fun in the moment. Cooking dinner during naptime instead of doing XYZ, washing the dishes before you go to bed, going to bed earlier… not the most exhilarating activities, I know.
But sometimes we need to choose what we want most over what we want now.
I want to enjoy playing with my kids when they’re not at school. Well, having dinner prepped ahead of time frees me to do that. (P.s. I don’t do this every day. Most days the dinner prep hour is the ugliest hour of the day, if I’m honest. But a girl’s got to have goals, right? Must. Get. Better. At. This.)
I want to wake up to a clean kitchen, sip my morning coffee, and enjoy writing at a clean dining room table. That can only happen if I clean up the house the night before.
I want to feel energized each morning and ready to seize the day! I want to wake up while it’s still dark and have a quiet hour to myself before the kids wake up. Going to bed early is the only way I can achieve this.
So yeah, sometimes I have to suck it up and do the things I don’t feel like doing in order to have the things I want. This is discipline.
It’s like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger you get.
I challenge you to practice making choices with your future self in mind. This could be your tonight self, your tomorrow morning self, your Holidays self, or your next year self. Get clear about how you want to feel, what you want your environment to be, what you’d like to be doing.
And then do a little something to work toward that. I’m not talking about a major life overhaul here. Just baby steps.
Exercise your self-discipline muscle to create more of what you want.
Then enjoy those sweet rewards! Let that enjoyment propel you to find new ways to “treat yo’self” through self-discipline.
Obviously, what’s important to me may be different from what’s important to you. I’d love to hear your thoughts on how you can incorporate self-discipline into your self care routine!
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