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The Law of Discipline

chapter ornament

I set my priorities high and will remain
disciplined on the path to achievement.

The Law of Discipline means doing what you know you must do even when you don’t want to do it. It is having the mental strength, attitude, and determination to overcome weakness and control your feelings in the pursuit of what you believe to be right even when you are tempted to abandon it. It means not giving up. The Law of Discipline can also be called the Law of Self-Discipline because it is the way you handle yourself, both inside and out, in order to achieve your goals. The concept of discipline can be found in ancient civilizations where great monuments were built, wars fought, and religions started. Today it is an important principal to follow in business and is often one of the prime objectives of entrepreneurs. In the military, discipline is ingrained into its members to achieve goals and hold themselves to higher standards. Discipline will help you with focus, planning, and succeeding. It strengthens your mind, body, and Spirit. No one else can make you disciplined, but if you choose to be, you will be rewarded with a sense of inner power, focus, commitment, independence, and strength of character you can get nowhere else. Discipline comes from within you, from a connection to your spiritual essence and the sense of enlightenment you achieve from the relationship to your true self.

Being disciplined brings with it the opportunity to achieve more in your life, to fulfill your dreams, and create the reality you truly desire. It means you’re ready for change and have the willpower, willingness, and desire needed to achieve those changes.

Every day, you’re faced with countless decisions that seem insignificant at the time but if looked at as part of a whole, you will see how much you practice the Law of Discipline. Being disciplined means taking on the hard tasks instead of the easy way out. You make difficult decisions and stick by them instead of staying on the fence or remaining undecided.

Avoiding Extremes

Have you ever met someone who is very serious, did everything by the book, is never late, and in total control of every aspect of their life? What about someone who is never on time, feels rules don’t apply to them, and seems to never be in control of what is happening in their lives, is very undisciplined, and could be helped by adding some discipline to their lives? There must be balance within the Law of Discipline. Discipline helps you maintain balance through the decisions you make and the actions you take. Just as you go back to your center of energy to find spiritual balance, if you’re feeling too rigid or undecided you can give yourself more freedom to be undisciplined in order to bring yourself back into a balanced state.

There are many ways you can become more disciplined through the choices you make. Temptations and distractions can create havoc on discipline. Because we live on the earthly plane, we’re always tempted and can be easily distracted. If you are able to remove the thing that is distracting or tempting you, do so. When a distraction can’t be easily removed, instead of procrastinating, give yourself a goal to meet and then reward yourself with the distraction. Sometimes a distraction is necessary to keep your mind sharp and focused on the task you need to complete. It’s when the temptation or distraction takes all your time away from meeting the goal that it becomes a problem.

Accountability

The Law of Discipline means you hold yourself accountable for your actions. Procrastination only delays what you need to do and can cause negative effects due to the delay. If you had a job where you had to do certain things within a certain timeframe and you continually didn’t get the work done in time, you’d no longer have a job. You could make one excuse after another to your boss about why you didn’t get the job done, which doesn’t matter in the end. You couldn’t do the job you were hired to do so the boss has no choice but to relieve you of your duties and find someone else who will get the job done in a timely manner. If you don’t hold yourself accountable, someone else might, and it may not be to your benefit. Accountability helps you add structure to your life. It helps you stick to your plans, hold yourself to a higher purpose, and achieve great things.

If you have a hard time adding discipline to your life, then do your hardest task first every day. When you complete the thing you really don’t want to do first, then it frees up your day for the things you enjoy. I put items on my list in the order of how much I don’t want to do them with the least enjoyable task on top and the most enjoyable one on the bottom. Why? Because I know I’ll be tired by the end of the day and if the hardest tasks are already done, the end of my day will be easier. Being disciplined is like a juggling act. You must figure out what works for you and complete all the different things you have to do in a day without dropping the ball. If you have so many things on your plate that you can’t get them all done in a day, maybe it’s time to let some of it go. When you create a plan for your days, it’s easy to get into habits where you can achieve everything you need to do daily. Habits become second nature, requiring little thought. Being unable to stick to your priorities is one of the reasons most people fail to achieve greatness. You must remain dedicated, disciplined, and devoted to your goals in order to fulfill them.

Start Moving to Accomplish More

Newton’s law of inertia states that an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an outside force. Think of yourself as that object and apply the Law of Discipline. It might be hard to get started on a task, but once you’re in motion you’ll tend to stay in motion until the completion of the task unless an unbalanced force (temptation, distraction, etc.) comes along and knocks you into another direction. It’s a natural tendency for objects to keep doing what they’re doing once they’re in motion. So while it might be hard to get out of bed an hour earlier so you can get a task done, once you’re up and working, you’ll tend to keep working. It may be difficult to get to the gym, but once you’re there, you’ll do your workout. So get yourself moving, dig in, and keep the unbalanced forces that interrupt you to a minimum. You’ll see yourself making great strides toward what you want in life.

Being disciplined is a strength you can call upon at any point in your life to keep yourself on track and get the job done. Each person has unique talents they use to reach their goals. The most successful people also have the discipline to put in the time required to reach those goals. They’re able to rely on the strength inside themselves that makes them practice long hours to become a great violinist or run for miles and miles to become an Olympic track and field gold medalist. As an observer you may only see end results, the successful completion of another person’s goal and not all the hard work that went into the achievement. Discipline and dedication can make all the difference in the world between being average and achieving greatness. Anything you want to do or achieve is possible through living the Law of Discipline. It makes you happier and more fulfilled because you’ve seen something through to the end through focus, determination, and devotion to ultimately achieve success. If you want it, set your mind to it, be disciplined in your approach, be persistent and don’t give up, and eventually it will be yours.

Try It Now

When it comes to discipline, it’s important to always finish what you start. If you leave tasks incomplete, then you’re creating a lot of loose ends for yourself. What tasks have you left incomplete? Write them all down and then put all your focus on completing them. As you do, you’ll gain a sense of fulfillment, of completion. Discipline can keep you from creating messy loose ends that can hold you back from moving forward.

Practical Application Tips

See Also Chapter 35: The Law of Patience

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