Spirituality

Rigidity

In yesterday’s column I wrote about the value of discipline. Discipline, when combined with commitment, brings great accomplishments into your life. But don’t allow yourself to become boring and stiff in the process.

Life requires adaptability and flexibility. If something isn’t working, change and do it quickly. This is especially useful in team settings. Just because “we’ve always done it this way” may have worked for a time, it’s necessary to question and evolve. There may be a better way.

Young people bring creativity to the table. Enthusiasm, too. Older people have the benefit of wisdom, but that doesn’t mean they know it all. Combining creativity, enthusiasm and wisdom, in the right environment, brings life to projects.

If you already have discipline but are inflexible, you run the risk of becoming miserable. Expand your worldview. Take some risks. Remember to live while you are going through this life.

God created us for a purpose. Even He has flexibility. God altered his own physical law when he made the sun stand still. We aren’t that powerful, but our brains have massive, untapped potential.

Get disciplined and get going. Theres a great life waiting for you…

Standard
Spirituality

Disciplined

We admire discipline, don’t we? For example, if our armed forces were overweight, lazy, and untrained, the safety of our country would be compromised, at best. We want our military to be “battle ready” if the need arises, hoping for peace on earth at the same time. Our military represents discipline.

Self-discipline is a challenge for many of us. People set New Year’s resolutions to change an outcome in their lives, yet 92% don’t stick with their new goals. They don’t lack the ability to change. The commitment to change, even for the better, requires discipline.

Discipline can be created. It takes around 21 days to form a new habit. Twenty one days isn’t a long time, but it may seem like an eternity when trying to move in a new direction.

If discipline is a struggle for you, I encourage you to start with one thing. Only one. Perhaps the one thing is committing to no longer hitting the snooze button on your alarm. Do it for three weeks and never look back.

You can do anything you set your mind to. Ask God for help if you feel weak or tired. He shows up every time. Promise!

Standard
Spirituality, Uncategorized

Silence is Golden

In The Book of James, we are instructed to “Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry.” In today’s world where everyone believes their voice must be louder than the rest, this is a welcome admonishment.

The tongue can be a dangerous weapon. We should always be ourselves, but it’s a solid idea to choose our words wisely. A misspoken word has the potential to do great harm. Being willing to listen more than we talk is a good starting point.

Have you noticed that some people just walk around angry? Those people seem miserable. Angry people rationalize their anger by saying “someone else caused them to be this way.” No one has that power over another person unless the person has no discipline or self control.

We should be angry about children who are trafficked. People going hungry or being marginalized by others should incite us to do something. This is righteous anger, the same anger Jesus displayed. Getting angry because you got cut off in traffic is ridiculous.

Be disciplined in every moment. Listen more. Talk less. Take action when the Spirit moves you…

Standard