Win with self-discipline
When a person with self-discipline agrees to meet you, he'll show up.
When an undisciplined person agrees to meet you, he may or may not show up.
- The disciplined person does what he says.
- The undisciplined person makes excuses and procrastinates.
You will have many unnecessary problems in your life unless you have self-discipline.
- If your emotions control you, you are headed for trouble.
- When you control your thoughts and actions, your life will be so much better.
When people create problems for themselves, others may say they have no willpower. Your will is like a muscle. The more you exercise it, the more disciplined you become.
Is it possible to become a self-disciplined person? Yes.
Your life won't get any better until bad habits are replaced by good ones.
To be a more disciplined person:
- Don't let the computer or television be your boss.
- Make time for daily prayer and the Bible.
- Eat and sleep at regular times.
- Keep living and work areas organized.
- Find time to exercise, even if it is only walking.
- Give God first place in your life.
From time to time, look at your progress in these areas. Make the needed changes.
Your life will become so much easier and happier. And you'll become the person that God wants you to be.
Saint Paul stressed the need for self-discipline. In 1Corinthians (9:24-27), he says that if an athlete exercises willpower to gain a temporary crown, then a Christian should
exercise even more discipline to gain a crown that lasts forever.
Saint Paul’s own strong will, strengthened by the Holy Spirit, enabled him to endure unbelievable hardships and to go
wherever God led him.
It is not easy to keep our eyes fixed on the prize, which is eternal life with Jesus Christ. There are so many distractions and temptations. Prayer and the Eucharist give us the strength
to put self-discipline into practice.
Reality check
Despite repeated failures, we need to keep trying. We want instant success, but holiness requires a sustained effort. “For although the just man shall fall seven times, he rises again,
but the wicked are brought down by calamity” (Proverbs 24:16).
Over time, we succeed more than we fail. Eventually we finish the race and win the prize — life with Jesus.
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