Of all the things I’ve written about in these blog posts for the last several years, all are useless unless you do them — unless you actually put them into practice. No matter how badly you want to lose 40 pounds; no matter how badly you want to build your body up; no matter how much of a burning desire you have to see something accomplished; unless you have the self-discipline to take action, whatever it is you want — won’t happen.
Wanting to do something is not good enough. Having a burning desire to do something is not good enough. No matter how willing you are to make it happen, unless you self-actualize, unless you have the self-discipline to execute on a plan of action, unless you have the self-discipline to actually carry it out — only then will you be heading toward your goal. No matter how badly you want to stop eating, no matter how much of a burning desire you have to lose that weight, unless you actually push yourself away from the plate, or put less on the plate in the first place — you will not lose the weight.
Self-discipline is a major challenge for most of us. But to reach goals, you must do the things that move you toward the result you want, whether you want to or not. Wishing something so, will not make it so.
I am fortunate. I enjoy going to the gym very early in the morning. I am a morning person. I enjoy exercise for it’s own sake. I see a lot of people at the gym in the morning who don’t want to be there — but they are there. They don’t like getting up early; they don’t like to exercise — but they do it because they know that have to if they want to stay lean, trim and live a long life. I know, I talk to a lot of them and that’s what they tell me. There are times I don’t want to go to the gym. I just don’t feel like exercising. That’s where self-discipline takes over. I know that if I want to stay healthy and fit, I have to go. So I do. Rarely do I stay home because I just don’t feel like going.
How do you develop self-discipline? How do you make yourself cut back on something you know is unhealthful. I don’t know. I suppose it is different for each of us. For me it’s a matter of just moving forward, getting in the car, opening the garage door, and going. Once I am on my way, I am not turning around. I put my gym bag in the car the night before so that isn’t a mental obstacle in the morning. I suppose it has become a habit.
If you are 40 pounds overweight and you want to lose that weight, motivation will help, but all the motivation in the world won’t get the job done. Self-discipline will put that motivation into action. Any time you want to change a current reality into a new reality, you must have the willingness, the desire, the motivation, and most importantly the self-discipline to take action to get the result you want so badly. You can’t write your own story without self-discipline.
Thank you for reading.