Feedback Form
Home Features Mastermind Forums About Advertise Blog Network Contact Be An Author

The Power of Discipline

The Power of Discipline

I was reading Henri Nouwen's book The Inner Voice Of Love, and came across the most interesting idea. So interesting, in fact, that I grabbed the closest thing I could write on (the back of an envelope, a la Abe Lincoln), and wrote "Discipline gives you a sense of your inner strength."

When I look back at my life, I see quite clearly that there have been times when I've been undisciplined -- and those are generally very chaotic periods. However, when I have been more disciplined, I realize, I move more swiftly through crisis.

I wondered, "If I have a coaching client who feels overwhelmed, would it be helpful to suggest they find one place in their life to exert some discipline?" By Jove, I think I've got something there.

Isn't it funny that three words which were of such great importance to earlier generations -- sacrifice, obedience, discipline -- have been made into veritable four-letter words in this generation? Somehow, sacrifice, obedience and discipline are stodgy. They limit our self-expression. They repress us. They're for squares, man.

But the flip side to the "if it feels good, do it" school of anti-discipline can be a feeling that resistance is not only futile, but that we are not strong enough to resist. Take away the extraneous words in that sentence and you're left with: "...we are not strong enough..."

That's a pretty sad way to look at life. Not very positive, forward-looking or powerful, huh? But a fairly widely held view, if you just take my clients' word for it.

When I feel disciplined enough to exercise, I not only feel better about my body, but I feel better about my ability to stick to it. My dear cousin Joe, who is sneaking up on his 50th birthday, started an exercise program eight weeks ago. Now, I love this dear man. But he's not the exercising type. He's an artist, a historian, a thinker. When he told me he'd joined the gym near his house and was exercising every day at 5:30am, I thought, "Yeah, right. We'll see how long THIS lasts." How wrong I was. Joe is trimmer, he looks great -- but most of all, he's reconnected with his inner strength. With his ability to be disciplined.

Discipline doesn't have to be dour. Don't you just visualize some joyless, self-sacrificing, beige kind of person when you think of discipline? OK, there is a quartile of you who thinks of some dominatrix named Helga, but shake that off, will you?

Let's reframe discipline. Think about discipline as making inviolable time to be with your children. To connect with friends. To build your community. How about the discipline to attend to your own self-care? To honor yourself by feeding yourself well, or taking yourself in for a flu shot, or buying yourself a gift.

I have begun taking myself out on dates. Sound weird? Here's how it goes. I ask myself, "What would be fun to do?" Maybe I take myself to dinner and a movie. Not dinner from a fast-food drive-in window, but at a real restaurant with tables and waiters and stuff. I order whatever sounds good on the menu and a glass of wine. Then, I choose a movie I really want to see and buy myself a ticket. Sure, doing this with a friend is lovely. But doing it for myself is affirming.

I treat myself as I would treat a guest.

And I end up feeling pampered, and cared for, and... dare I say it?...happy.

Discipline gives you a sense of your own inner strength. Having discipline is all about choosing to make the most of your life. You make choices to support yourself -- because you are strong enough to do that. If you're feeling overwhelmed, or oppressed, or chaotic, take a moment and find one little area of your life where you can reconnect with your own inner strength -- even if you feel you don't have any, or other folks tell you that you have no right to strength -- you can find it. Then nurture it. It will grow. Then, let your inner strength build the life you are meant to have.





The Power of Discipline - To learn more about this author, visit Michele Woodward's Website.

Like this article? Share it with your friends

Article Feedback
 Article Feedback No article feedback found.
  Leave Your Feedback
article feedback

Article Feedback
John Power
John Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website

Kim Castle
With nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website

Dave Kurlan
Dave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website

George Ludwig
George Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website

Linda Richardson
Linda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website


To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us.

About The Author


Michele Woodward
(Visit Michele's Website) Michele Woodward is an executive life coach who helps individuals and businesses improve efficiency and effectiveness. In her coaching practice, Michele offers a committed coaching partnership using leadership training, communications techniques, strengths assessments and other tools. Michele helps clients with innovative and workable ways to increase their performance, and overall satisfaction with their lives.  She is a member of the International Coach Federation and the International Association of Coaches, and is qualified to administer and interpret MBTI -- the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Michele is a certified NorthStar Coach, having completed a course of training with Martha Beck's NorthStar program. She is a sought-after speaker and leads a number of workshops and classes, and writes a popular blog.

Michele Woodward is a Gold author on EvanCarmichael.com
About The Author

View Author Blog
View Author Blog

View Author Video
View Author Video

Free Downloads


Michele Woodward's

Complete
List Of
Work-Life
Articles

Name
Email
If you enjoyed this article, get Michele Woodward's Complete List of Work-Life Articles For FREE!

More Michele Woodward
Extreme Jobs
Inbox Management
The Power of Discipline
Mind Your Own Business
Difficult People
Standard Operating Procedure
Clarity of Purpose
Mistakes Were Made
Email Triage
Free Downloads


 
 
 


Evan Elite Authors
Linda Richardson  
Anne Barr  
John Brennan  
Evan Elite Authors

Become An Author
Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details.
Become An Author

Evan's Latest Video
Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media
Evan's Latest Video

Business Opportunities
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"

How to Start An Online Business

Click Here To Learn More
Business Opportunities



Evan's Newsletter
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Name:
Email:
Evan`s Newsletter

Free Downloads
Manage, Click, Learn. 2009 Icon Manage, Click, Learn. 2009
Your Marketing Mindset Icon Your Marketing Mindset
Loyalty Strategies Icon Loyalty Strategies
9 Questions From New Marketers Icon 9 Questions From New Marketers
Leadership Assessment Icon Leadership Assessment
Free Downloads - Complete List

Entrepreneur Tools and Guides
Top 50 HR Blogs 2009
Top 50 HR Blogs 2009
Top 50 HR Blogs 2009
 
Top 50 Niche Blogs 2009
Top 50 Niche Blogs 2009
Top 50 Niche Blogs 2009
 
Entrepreneur Tools and Guides

SEO For Africa
SEO For Africa
Neima Sintia Virgili Mabota Cidade de Maputo, Mozambique,
Neima Sintia Virgili Mabota
Cidade de Maputo, Mozambique
SEO For Africa

If I Were A Startup...
Razor Suleman, $143k to $5.4 Mil in 5 years
Razor Suleman
$143k to $5.4 Mil in 5 years
Kerry Shapansky, $2.0 to $51 Mil in 5 years
Kerry Shapansky
$2.0 to $51 Mil in 5 years
If I Were A Startup... - Complete List

Famous Entrepreneurs
Sergey Brin Larry Page, Google
Simon Cowell, American Idol
Simon Cowell
American Idol
Famous Entrepreneurs - Complete List

Entrepreneur Advice
Michael Gerber, The E Myth
Michael Gerber
The E Myth
Seth Godin, Ideavirus Author
Seth Godin
Ideavirus Author
Entrepreneur Advice - Complete List

Popular Articles
(Premium Authors)

     Entrepreneurship Has No Age Limit Or Boundaries...
By Gregory Henderson
     Is There Really a Secret to Starting an Online Home Business? Yes Absolutely!
By Gregory Henderson
     Home Base Business - The Secret To Successfully Starting A Profitable Business
By Gregory Henderson

Have A Suggestion?
Toronto Salsa Classes / Toronto Salsa Lessons Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
Have A Suggestion?

More Evan Carmichael
More Information