I’ve told you before, that discipline does not come easy to me. Looking deeper into myself, I have discovered why. I am easily bored with routine, and I am addicted to change. In order to keep me interested in doing the same thing again and again, I have to change it up. I can’t stay stagnant in my practice. I have to move deeper. I have to keep the fire burning.
I have to romance my practice to keep the passion alive.
This is how it is with any relationship you want to pursue. No one stays the same. We change and grow whether we like to admit it or not. Yet change can be a good thing. We mix it up so our marriage doesn’t get boring: wear nice clothes, go out to dinner, buy some flowers. And again, as Christians, our relationship with God would get boring if we refused to grow through change. We have to take a prayer walk, lie face down in the grass and listen to insects, pray with your eyes wide open. Or maybe read a book you never thought you would.
I can understand the tendency to be bored. Maybe that’s why I rearrange the furniture, pictures, plants, etc. every so often. Some people like change, and some like routine, but we really need both.
To keep my passion for God alive, I need to keep going back to His Word, and seeing who He really is, look at Jesus “the Author and Perfecter of our faith.” Hebrews 12:2 Also, reading a lot of books about how He is working in other people’s lives is a real inspiration. Taking walks and enjoying God’s handiwork. Praying and allowing His Spirit to help me and open my eyes to the possibilities He has for me.
I would agree. Those are all great ways to keep our passion alive. Prayer, walks, listening to His word or just the sounds of His handiwork in the creature around me are good ways to stay connected.
How do you motivate yourself in your exercise discipline?
I guess I have to want something bad enough, or see the need for it enough to make myself do it. It also helps when I see something on T.V. or in a magazine or in a group that sets an example for me, and givs me hope to try.