{"id":6309,"date":"2023-01-10T20:14:50","date_gmt":"2023-01-10T14:44:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifegram.org\/?p=6309"},"modified":"2023-01-11T12:08:27","modified_gmt":"2023-01-11T06:38:27","slug":"how-to-stay-disciplined","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifegram.org\/how-to-stay-disciplined\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Stay Disciplined And Meet Your Resolution Goals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Discipline is a practice. It\u2019s obeying a code of behavior that creates the habits that<\/span>\u00a0become who we are daily. Here are some tips how to stay disciplined and meet your new year resolutions.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s about that time of year when resolutions are at the forefront of our minds. A new year<\/span>\u00a0brings renewed aspirations. Gyms are packed. Pantries are cleaned. Priorities are rearranged.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many of us are eager to make changes. To drive into the new year with fresh resolve. We vow to<\/span>\u00a0cleanse, to gain, to lose, to start, to quit . . . to change.<\/span><\/p>\n

When it comes to making changes, I believe there are two types of people: Those who<\/span>
\ncrave change like candy, and those who avoid it like their ex. <\/span><\/p>\n

Whether you like it or not, change<\/span>\u00a0takes work. Hard work. It requires you to start new good habits and break old bad ones. When<\/span>\u00a0you set a resolution<\/a>, you are essentially making a pact with yourself \u2014 a firm decision \u2014 to<\/span>\u00a0behave a certain way. Often a different and extremely uncomfortable way. Over and over again.<\/span><\/p>\n

So how do you stay motivated?<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s the question friends have repeatedly asked me over the years. Frankly, I never truly<\/span>
\nunderstood why they think I have the answer, nor have I ever provided inspiring insight. I don\u2019t<\/span>\u00a0do anything particularly special. <\/span><\/p>\n

At least I didn\u2019t think I did. Until recently, when a friend<\/span>\u00a0benevolently argued . . . \u201cbut you exercise every morning at 5 am. There is no way I could do<\/span>\u00a0that. How do you stay motivated?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

They framed the question with such awe, relinquishing their<\/span>own ability to execute such an impossible practice at the same time. Which made me think. How<\/span>\u00a0do I do it?<\/span><\/p>\n

The truth is, I\u2019m not motivated at all. I have been getting up before dawn to exercise for<\/span>
\nmore than two decades and there isn\u2019t a single morning that I don\u2019t curse the alarm. <\/span><\/p>\n

I have a full<\/span>\u00a0blown internal face-off that is reminiscent of two hostile teenage siblings battling over who’s turn it<\/span>\u00a0is to take out the trash. \u201cI did it yesterday!\u201d \u201cWell, I did it the day before!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

When 5 am<\/span>\u00a0screams, I wake up demanding credit for my previous day\u2019s hard work and beg for the day off as<\/span>\u00a0a reward. Until . . . old habits prevail and I just roll over and go. I do it, not because I am<\/span>\u00a0motivated, I do it because I have something that I didn\u2019t realize not everybody had . . .<\/span>discipline.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

What I should have said to my admiring friend is that what I do, I do<\/span>\u00a0despite being motivated. It isn\u2019t about the things we want to do, it is the things we have to do<\/span>\u00a0because it means that much to us. And it has to be deeply rooted in discipline.<\/span><\/p>\n

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