Discipline is like a four-letter, dirty word to me. I love to hate it and hate to love it, and yet I am called to it. It's been fairly easy to justify my lack of discipline over the past year, as I was finishing up a pregnancy, and then adjusting to life with our third daughter. You know how lack of sleep just takes everything out of you. But my newborn is almost 8 months old now with 4 teeth in her mouth, newly crawling, and sleeping through the night more often than not. That excuse is becoming less and less viable. I am constantly in awe of these mommy bloggers who are able to get something up everyday. Seriously, there are days that I can't even put a thought together, much less sit for a few moments and put together a somewhat cohesive thought. It makes me feel like such a slacker. But then, I already mentioned that I lack discipline. I am easily distracted, and spend entirely too much time on facebook. When I sit down at the computer, I think that I'll just take a quick peek to see what my friends are up to, and then a half an hour to an hour will pass by and I have nothing to show for it. Seriously, who cares what the latest status update is of an old acquaintance from elementary school is. It's been 15 years (ok, 18 years) since I saw them last, and now my precious time slips away as I peruse pages of people I don't really know. I am time waster of the highest order.
And now I am staring 2010 in the face with a noble list of resolutions and goals for this hopeful upcoming year. But I know in all reality that I will accomplish none of it without changing my dirty word into a lifestyle: D.I.S.C.I.P.L.I.N.E.
So, here I go. I dread putting things down in print, lest I feel foolish when I fail if I fail. I feel like I have become the sort of person who does not finish what she starts, as boredom sets in as the wanderlust passes and I move on to the next whim. I don't like that characterization about myself (did I mention I need discipline?), and so this year I am bound and determined to change it. So I have few guiding goals and resolutions that I setting out for myself. This will be a work in progress, so that I may add/edit as life requires, but this is my starting point:
Read the Bible in 90 Days (ambitious, no? join me! you can find out more about here, sign up to be a part of it here, and I'll try to post something about it more later today or so. I've meant to get something posted, but I seem to be quite the procrastinator as well. Did I mention I need discipline? Yeah, working on it.) Amy over at Mom's Toolbox is hosting this fantastic challenge and I am so excited to become part of that community!- Finish P90X with an ultimate goal of taking off, well you don't need to know all my business. Let's just say I have a goal to take off some lingering baby weight (ok, it's probably not baby weight anymore, but I'll still squeak some mileage out of that). I'm on day 4 now and my body hates me for it. I keep telling myself it will get better. I hope I'm not lying.
- Revisit/update my 101 Goals in 1001 Days and get more things crossed off my list.
- Play that poor, ignored guitar at least 20 minutes a day.
- Stay off of facebook until my chores/goals for the day have been done. Not even a glance. That will be challenging but so rewarding. I think being a stay at home mommy leaves me really wanting to connect to the outside world sometimes...hence facebook. It's amazing how addicting that can be, though, and no longer productive at all. Imagine!
I have other goals that I have thought of up to this point, but that are not coming to mind right now. Even as it is, this post has been interrupted several times by the pleasant request of a sweet girl to have a book read, or a snack made, or the cries of a hungry baby or one refusing to nap....or any endless list of countless interruptions that make up a normal day in life of mommy. So the goals for finances, diet, organization and whatever else will just have to wait for now. Someday it will all get done, or it will never get done and we just continue to push on.
Ok, so I'm going to stop here just so I can get something up. My crawling baby has worked her way into a corner and becoming quite frustrated. Mommy to the rescue!
Shauna.....I am totally with you on just about everything you wrote in this post. I had thought about putting something up on my own blog about my goals for this year, but the idea of putting it down in written word immediately brings to mind the word "failure". So, like you, my one goal maybe needs to develop more discipline. Hope it all goes well for you, I'll have to check in and see how you're doing with it. ;)
ReplyDeleteI want to be an encourager and I know that at any given time you could accomplish any of those goals (as well as your 101 list).
ReplyDeleteI would, however, throw out this caution. Trying to do these 5 things all starting NOW is likely a set up to fail. To me, it's the math. An hour a day of Bible reading, an hour a day (at least) of P90X, plus the added planning/shopping/preparing for P90X meals and 20 minutes of guitar. If those are things you have not already been doing then you'll have to carve out at least 2 1/2 hours a day.
I only have two sweet little ones and my husband doesn't travel and to find more than 2 hours a day would be tough. Then again, by cutting out Facebook maybe you are saving that much time!! haha
You can do it! Take one or two at a time, friend. Slow and steady.
So true, so true, my wise friend. I actually spent the week before Christmas praying about my daily schedule as I poured over these goals. It has taken some rearranging and reorganizing of my day, but my evening, after the girls go down, are devoted to much of it. I have been playing my guitar in the afternoon while the baby naps, and the older girls have been enjoying that too! they get in on the music fun, so it's been nice. My nights have become quite scheduled as I do my workout after the girls go down and then do my reading to cap off the night. This schedule can be sustained while my hubby travels too, which was the most important part of it. So I'm pushing ahead and learning more about staying disciplined and focused. Interesting journey. I'm on week 2 of the P90X, though! Sticking with it!
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