Pathwalking 207
Discipline for some does not come easily.
I have always had issues with disciplining myself. Whether it was my diet, my writing and editing time or anything else requiring focus and attention – I have regularly found it challenging to hold to what needs to happen to get where I want to go.
I have made a lot of effort in this department to address this problem. Acknowledging my lack of discipline is the first step, but admittedly there have been times I have not gotten beyond that.
Every year I talk about my dislike of New Years’ Resolutions. Resolve is all well and good, but it’s a somewhat weak and uncommitted act. I can resolve to do any number of things, but resolve is not action, it is idea. Action makes things happen.
Over the past several years now I have in place of resolutions taken actions. This is in fact why Pathwalking exists. My New Year’s Action back in 2011 was to start blogging more regularly, and from this emerged Pathwalking. Through regular blogging I was able to discipline myself to hold to the actions I started.
This is where I have found my discipline and stuck to my plan. As such, I began to work on choosing my own destiny. Yes there have been fits and starts and other issues along the way, but in the nearly four years I have been taking actions, instead of making resolutions, and blogging about my journey along my chosen paths, I believe my life has been far better.
At the end of 2012 I continued this practice, and the actions I chose were nearly identical to those I chose the year before. Where is it written that actions need to be different? Re-enforcement of actions can go a long ways towards getting you where you want to go.
Once again I think I have held to this discipline. I am not taking actions that are particular, they are frankly pretty broad. But I think when we force ourselves to act against our nature, as I think is the case of many a New Year’s Resolution, we are far less likely to succeed. I think that’s why selecting actions that are in no way insurmountable are a good idea.
I have continued taking steps to hold to my New Years’ Actions. From my desire to be more positive I created the Positivity post to this blog. Every week for nearly two years now I have been finding and discussing something to be positive about. Every Monday I look to this notion, and I believe that talking about and spreading positives helps to generate more in this world.
When it comes to the blogging I have found somewhere my discipline fully succeeds. This is the two hundred and seventh post in the Pathwalking series. Two hundred and seven weeks I have been holding to this discipline and Wednesday morning Pathwalking happens. There are weeks that this is easier to write than others. Sometimes these are created days and weeks in advance, and sometimes immediately before I post. Yet for almost four years I have held to this.
The point is while discipline comes hard to me, I can do it. Like anything that I wish to manifest it is a matter of thought, a matter of feeling, but most importantly it is a matter of action.
Discipline is another word for action. I can come up with any number of ideas. I can dream up all sorts of things I want to improve my life. I can feel these things out, I can work on the emotions necessary in their creation. But if I do not act, they will not come about. Action is discipline.
This is where I think resolutions fall short. Resolution is thought, and maybe the attachment of emotion. But it lacks the action needed to really bring about whatever change is sought.
I have taken New Years Actions that were somewhat vague. Granted the actions that resulted from them, such as this and Positivity were discipline on my part. There are other things I want to achieve that are less vague and more real which require more discipline, and thus more actions to achieve.
I can, as I have sought over the years, work on actions for expressing more gratitude, being more positive, finding ways to feel good instead of bad. The tougher actions are the more specific ones.
I want to get into better shape. Isn’t that one of the most cliché of the New Year’s Resolutions? What actions, what disciplines are needed to achieve this? Diet and exercise of course are the answer. It is here where my discipline truly does not come easily.
How do I better discipline myself to create and take necessary actions? That’s the question I am posing to myself. I have several goals that require actions, and I want to work on them and not just pay them lip service.
As the year comes to a close I want to work on bettering my discipline. Since I am arguing that discipline is an alternative to action, then I need to focus on what actions I need to take this year in order to get where I want to go.
Next week I will share with you my plans, and work out with you what actions I need to take in order to create the discipline I need to make them reality. I want to begin the coming New Year with more specific focus and specific goals in addition to my broader goals.
What do you do to find your discipline?
This is the two-hundred seventh entry in my series. These weekly posts are ideas and my personal experiences in walking along the path of life. I share this journey as part of my personal desire to make a difference in this world along the way.
Thank you for joining me. Feel free to re-blog and share.
The first year of Pathwalking, including some expanded ideas, is available in print and for your Kindle.
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