The final step in being self-disciplined is #6 …

6> FOLLOW THROUGH, EVEN WHEN IT HURTS

People usually don’t quit striving for their future, their dream, their destiny because it suddenly is no longer worth the effort. They quit because they are not willing to pay the price of being self-discipled. They are not willing to follow through with the daily disciplines needed to achieve the dream or the goal. To be successful and thus fulfilled, we need to do what we should, even when it hurts.

Self-disciple is the fuel that keeps you going. The willingness to hold on in spite of problems, the power to endure — this is the quality of someone who achieves their goals and crosses their personal finish line in the race of life.

Tony Robbins – speaker and author – states, “I believe that life is constantly testing us for our level of commitment, and life’s greatest rewards are reserved for those who demonstrate a never-ending commitment to act until they achieve.”

The bottom line is that you cannot manage your life if you do not manage yourself. You cannot maximize your capacity for achieving if you cannot increase your discipline. Life continually gets busier and more complicated. It doesn’t go the other way. If you are older, as I am, you recognize that. Even now with my six children grown up and with 15 grandchildren and one great grandchild, I don’t have time for all the things I want to do. And if I live yo be a hundred it won’t be enough time to accomplish all the dreams I have.

I can’t have any more hours in a day. So what can I do? Two things. First, I can focus on my self-discipline so that I make the most of the time I do have. Second, I can guard my time and not let others waste it. There are only three things you can do with the time you have – waste it, spend it, or invest it. The latter is what you should always be aiming for. And, so don’t let people waste your time or simply use up what limited time you do have called life. 

To increase your discipline, you don’t have to be rich. You don’t have to be a genius. You don’t need to come from a great family. You don’t need extraordinary talent. You just need to focus and follow through. 

You need self-discipline. 

So, in review…

1> Know what is important (prioritize)

2>Get rid of excuses

3> Take action before you feel like it

A> Think about the consequences of not acting

B> Focus on doing the right thing just for today

C> Make yourself accountable to someone else in your weak area

4> Don’t let distractions distract you

5> Be aware of time

A> Set upfront expectations

B> Set external deadlines

6> Follow through, even when it hurts. 

Most people are not naturally disciplined in the various aspects of their life – at home, at work, or even at play. Becoming disciplined is, however, something we can learn. Last time we looked at two aspects of building a daily discipline into our lives:

1> Know what is important in your life

2> Get rid of excuses that we all make for not being disciplined

3> TAKE ACTION BEFORE YOU FEEL LIKE IT

Our culture does not help us with this. Looking around at how others are living does not motivate us to act in spite of not feeling like it. The message we hear over and over is that we should do what we feel. But what if we don’t feel like doing something? Should we wait for inspiration? In the case of writing, every experienced writer will tell you that you have to write when you don’t feel like it. Otherwise, you’ll never get much done. That has been very true in my life. So, every day I sit down in front of the computer screen and write regardless of how I am feeling.

Every person has a weak area that is especially hard to discipline. So what should you do to implement more discipline in that area and in your life in general?

A> THINK ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ACTING

If you don’t make the right decisions and choices and then act upon them, there will be consequences. We need to understand that truth and remind ourselves of it on a daily basis.

B> FOCUS ON DOING THE RIGHT THING JUST FOR TODAY

If you think about having to do something you don’t want to do every day for the rest of your life, it will most likely discourage you. So simply focus on today. One day at a time (a good Alcoholic’s Anonymous slogan) has worked for me for the last 40+ years. I can handle the ‘today’. So I live one day at a time. 

C> MAKE YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE TO SOMEONE ELSE IN YOUR WEAK AREA

Few things are more effective in the area of self-discipline than accountability. Why? Because we all need help with our weaknesses! You need to answer to someone besides yourself. When you have only yourself to answer to, you don’t do nearly as well as you do when someone else is holding you accountable.

So, my question is: What systems do you have in place to prompt you to take the right action when you don’t feel like it? Who have you enlisted to hold you accountable? No matter how much self-discipline you have, you could benefit from ways to help you take action when it counts.

4> DON’T LET DISTRACTIONS DISTRACT YOU

People who accomplish things in life that benefit and impact others are careful what they focus on and thus what they allow or don’t allow to distract them from their primary purpose. In other words, know your priorities and stick to them. This may require learning some basic time management skills. This will require that you set boundaries and know what you should and can say “yes” to and what you must say “no” to. 

Each week (and, as a result, each day) I have goals set that I want to (often need to) reach and accomplish during that specific day. That means there are many things I need to be disciplined enough to not become involved in — a number of things that I simply need to say “no” to; things that take my focus away from what really needs to be accomplished.

For example:

• • I get almost daily requests to prophecy over people who are “friends” on Facebook or who connect through my ministry’s web site. The answer is always no!

• • I don’t answer any phone call directly when the phone rings. I let it go to the message manager and then listen to my messages near the end of the work day and return those that need my attention.

• • I don’t listen for or look at messages that come in on the various message apps. They can wait because what I have determined needs to be accomplished today is more important than what might be in those messages. They are, most often, simply a distraction.

• • I run all messages for family and for ministry during one two hour period on Monday mornings when the stores are least busy.

• • I schedule daily reading and research time which is a non-negotiable and cannot be replaced by anything else no matter how important.

Stephen Covey called this doing first things first. It could also be called the Crowding Out Principle. It goes like this:

If you spend all your time on highly productive tasks, by the end of the day, you will have ‘crowded out’ all the unproductive activities that might have distracted you from your real work. On the other hand, if you spend your time on low value activities, those low value activities will crowd out the time that you needed to complete the tasks that can make all the difference in your life. And the key to this attitude toward time and personal management is always self-discipline.”

Ask yourself: “What am I crowding out of my life these days?” Are you doing the unimportant or the convenient at the expense of the essential? I hope not, because, if you are, you are going to be in trouble. You aren’t expending your energy on what really matters,

So ask yourself that question daily as a reminder to feed your focus and diminish your distraction: What am I crowding out today? When you’re thinking about and doing those things that bring a high return every day, you won’t have time to do the things that have low return. And that will move you forward in your life so that you fulfill God’s plan for your life.