Every year at this time, we find ourselves inspired by a new year to form good habits and disciplines that we know will benefit our lives as a physical, spiritual, and intellectual being. We get excited and then we slowly slip back into our comfortable ways.
I don’t judge. I am guilty of it myself but let me offer you some encouragement when it comes to that dirty word: Discipline.
Let’s be honest, discipline sucks. No one wants to do something they do not enjoy. Especially when our lives are filled with obligations and responsibilities. Who wants to add more discipline into what little free time we posses? It’s tough and my mindset slipping out of my disciplines is usually that of, “I can’t cope” without chocolate or TV or whatever. Or “Life is short, why not enjoy it to the fullest?”
But some insights I have gained from sticking with my disciplines of healthy living are these: life is beautiful when we move past the things to which we are addicted.
When we can break free from the mentality that life can not be enjoyed without whatever it is that is keeping us from living a healthy life, then we enter into a clearer and more vibrant world.
We find contentment in simpler things. We learn to find life’s value in reading a book or having a conversation.
So whatever it is that you are trying to break free from this year: sugar, TV, social media, etc. Dare to stick with it. Get up earlier and meditate. Eat dried fruit instead of traditional desserts. Stick it out through the drudgery of discipline and dare to live a better life.
Looking to add more exercise to your disciplines this year? Join me on Fridays at 6pm at Warwick Memorial United Methodist Church.
