Do It Anyway

Here I am, sitting at this desk, writing this blog post at 9:30pm on a Monday night.

I have other posts completed, and it would be simple to just send one of those out. So why am I writing this one? And why am I sending it without giving it time?

This morning, as I was thinking about which post I wanted to send out today, I decided that I wanted to write one about discipline. It is on my list, but I had not written anything yet. A big part of A Life Worth Remark is discipline.

My friend recently sent me this text: “we first make our habits, then our habits make us”.

Profound.

Habits are either formed accidentally, or crafted intentionally through strong disciplines.

Discipline is based on a decision, not a feeling.

The irony of this post is that it is the fulfillment of the principle in the post. I decided this morning that I was going to write this post on discipline. The day ended up being more full with no time to sit down and write. It was a good day and there were great moments, but it was full. I am tired and would love to sit down and read for a bit.

But I made a decision.

Discipline is how you craft habits. If I want to become a better writer, wielding words like a samurai wields his Katana, then it requires creating and maintaining a habit of writing even when I do not feel like it.

And I need to be aware that my feelings deceive me. My feelings tell me what I desire in that moment (like right now I would love a donut), but they rarely put things in context. Feelings are good and should be acknowledged and embraced in some circumstances. But they are often terrible for decision-making.

Discipline is the decision to do something despite how you feel in the moment.

Habits are the result of strong disciplines, or apathetic living.

You will build habits, period. The question you (and I) need to answer is what habits are we building? Even better, what habits have we built and what do we need to tear down in order to rebuild?

Back in March, my wife and I did sleep training with our toddlers. It was a course where a coach taught us about healthy boundaries to set and the science behind teaching your kid to sleep.

My son, who was just over 1 at the time, picked it up easy. By day 3, I said “it’s bed time” and he walked into the room to lay on the bed. My daughter, a year older than my son, took a lot longer. It ended up being almost 3 weeks before things really clicked and she actually slept in her bed.

You see, she had spent an additional year of her life building bad sleep habits, with my support! It was going to take some hard work and some painful disciplines to learn a new habit. This is the same for adults, though often it is more painful. This is why we are so comfortable saying, “well we have always done it this way”. This is why change is so hard!

Discipline is the decision. Habits are the result of making those decisions on a consistent basis.

Do it anyway.

Despite how I feel, whether it is a good feeling or a bad feeling, discipline to stick to a decision or a principle is what will form powerful habits. And over time, those habits form a picture of my life.

When the habits I have built really set in, eventually it will impact others. A life built on healthy habits is worth talking about.

Discipline is a decision.

Habits are the result of disciplines.

A Life Worth Remark is the fruit of healthy habits.

So here I am writing this post, even when I could have allowed myself a short cut. Because I see something bigger. And I will be up at 5am tomorrow.