How Discipline Creates Transformation

Is there an area of your life that you want to change? Maybe it is a relationship that keeps falling into unhealthy patterns, or perhaps something with your job, your finances, your health and physical well-being. Often we want things to change but if we are honest, we do not want to do the hard work, over time, that transformation requires. We want the result but we don’t want the discipline. In a world of instant and quick-fix, we have become accustomed to having things at the push of a button. But transforming areas of our lives requires more than a quick-fix. Think about it, how many times have you started a new diet…. It lasted a day, or two and you wonder…. Why haven’t I lost 10 pounds and gone down 2 pant sizes? Sounds ridiculous when I say it out loud but how many of us have thought that? Or, I want my finances to be transformed so that I am not in debt but we keep our trigger finger on the Amazon Prime button?

The results we are achieving now, in our life, relationships, physical health, finances, etc., are the result of the habits we have created over time. Maybe we say we want a loving and thriving relationship with our spouse but we are in the habit of criticizing them. Perhaps we want to be chosen for a promotion at work but we are in the habit of being late to meetings and missing deadlines. If we want to transform an area of our life, we need to examine the habits that have produced the result we currently have. And be brutally honest with ourselves.

Our habits determine our results and creating different results requires discipline. So choose an area of your life that you are committed to transforming. Write down the habits that have produced the results you currently have. Now, write down the habits that, when practiced consistently over time, will produce the results you say you want. And here is a key. Get clear on WHY you are committed to transforming. When you have a vision, a WHY, you are more likely to stick with your commitment and the discipline required.

In 1 Corinthians 9:27 the Apostle Paul talks about discipline. He says, “I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should.” His why—the reason he is committed to this discipline is so that he can be a credible witness for Jesus. We need a compelling vision that keeps us on track.

Transformation takes commitment, action, follow-through, and perseverance. Choose the pain of discipline over the pain of regret. Embrace uncomfortable. Perfect the art of bouncing back if you get off track. Applying discipline over time will result in transformation.