Discipline is not just going to bed early, or getting up before 6 a.m. It’s about doing things you don’t want to do to improve yourself. It’s making the right decisions on eating and exercise to ensure you are your strongest, most capable self. It’s setting goals and putting in the effort to achieve them.
I have discipline cycles. Cycles where I am consumed by getting up early, exercising, eating healthy, taking on more projects at work, using my last bit of energy to read with my children at night and cycles where I don’t do any of that. Cycles where I am so unmotivated, all discipline disappears.
I have noticed that these cycles of discipline are influenced by the seasons. From October — December, I am cold, tired, hungry and generally unhappy. In January with my newfound measurable goals, I am eagerly ready to take on the year. Discipline comes back and I’m back to my happy self…for 10 months.
I’ve become aware of these cycles over the past couple years. I’ve seen what I can do earlier this year when I was up at 4:30 a.m. and going to the gym 4–5 days a week. I’ve also found how much I burned myself out by doing that, taking care of the children, working and managing the house. I became consumed. The consumption fueled my fire. The fire fueled my discipline. And then the fire extinguished.
