Discipline is the key to forging a new life. Technically it starts with moment-to-moment discipline. For my life it starts with the night before. One author calls it the PM bookend. Before you go to bed you set yourself up for success. I prepare the coffee pot, set out the dishes and such for breakfast. Before adding this discipline in my life, I might discover that I was out of healthy breakfast options. I would then settle for a granola bar or some type of junk food. I also set out my exercise clothes and such. What I am doing is taking away my excuses. I have looked at the weather and made sure my clothing is ready for whatever weather might be there to greet me in the morning. No excuses! I then set out my journal and devotional materials. Again the main goal is to remove excuses. In that moment I am also committing to being a master of discipline.
In the morning, I rise to my alarm and work through my AM bookend. Over the years I have developed an algorithm where if the alarm goes off in the morning, I will go to the kitchen and drink 16 ounces of water. I add in some supplements and my day is launched. That action triggers my official AM launch sequence where I declare who I will be that day. I conclude the AM launch with some spine exercises. That triggers my next action of writing in my journal. Here I am again declaring who I will be and get done that day. I have a past, present and future component to that exercise. All of this takes about 15 minutes, and I am ready to move into prayer and meditation. Here I am connecting to my Creator. Really it is more like attuning my ear to the voice of God. The world gets loud, and I want to train my ear to hear from Him. With the prayer time closed for now, I open my Bible and read. Completing that trigger the next action of a standard morning workout.
Completing the workout triggers a time of reading, local news, inspirational literature and professional magazines. With that I am ready for my day. About this time my wife wakes up and I wake her with a cup of coffee.
Now this does not need to be how you treat your morning. But you do need to include something physical, mental, spiritual and social in your launch. This is the discipline to get you started. It helps you get strength right out of the gate. The day has only begun, and you have already done more by 9am than most people have done all day. You are a hero.
