Doing Hard Things

Been thinking alot lately about my personal discipline. It's not all that great, to be honest, and I want it to get better. But let's be honest, sitting on the couch thinking about having better personal discipline (while eating chips, drinking a soda, and watching TV) really doesn't get you very far - it's about actually getting up and doing something that matters. I know myself very well - for years my mantra has been "never put off to tomorrow what can be put off until next week." Admittedly not the best example to set for my girls...

Life is busy - we all know that - and it can run you down. By the time I get the girls to bed at night, I am frequently worn out and ready to check out for some down time. Is that wrong? No, I don't think so. So what's my problem? Once I start to check out, I never check back in. I sit to rest, but my rest period doesn't end until bedtime. So now I am challenging myself to get back up and do something... and it's hard.

So I heard this "do something hard" phrase a few months ago. I think it was a mother-daughter event that some friends of mine attended. I kept seeing that phrase over and over, and decided that I would adopt it into my own life. It's strange what we think of as being "hard" to do - most of my stuff is really minor, it's just stuff I don't like to do so I try to put it off until it takes care of itself (my success rate in this area is very high).

For example, I don't think it's wrong to leave the dishes in the sink until there's enough for a full dishwasher load. (Remember - we use paper plates and cups almost every meal, so it takes 2-3 days for us to accumulate enough dishes to fill the dishwasher.) I do, however, think that it's wrong to leave the dishes in the sink and hope that my babysitter decides to wash them for me because they're taking over the kitchen and leaving her in fear for her life.

So how am I doing? Pretty well on Focus #1. I've not been in the best health over the past few years - 4 surgeries (ruptured colon repaired, colostomy reversal, gall bladder removed, hernia repair) - plus my weight has gone back up in the 230s - so I decided to first focus on getting healthier. I've started swimming 1/2 mile 3 days a week, and that's going well. I've chosen to not have an evening snack more than one night a week, and that's going well. But now it's time to add another Focus and do more hard things.

So what about you? Are you doing hard things? Or are you living life on autopilot? Are your (proverbial) dishes piling up, waiting for someone else to handle them? Then join me - and do something hard. So far, it's been worth it.