Change = Discipline + Action + Time

A couple of months ago a young veteran dropped by my office at the yoga studio.  “I’m going to do yoga every day for thirty days!”, he exclaimed.

“Excellent!!”, I said.

He squinted his eyes, shook his head and shrugged a little and countered, “Why?”.

“Because any discipline is better than no discipline”, I offered.

We stared at each other for a couple of seconds, each saying nothing.  He left, and I stood there kind of staring at myself.  Hmm…perhaps the encounter was just as much for me as it was for him.  Call it reminder, clarity, epiphany…kick in the arse.

I’m reminded of this on the dawn of a new day, a new week, a new year.  What is one of your goals?  You may desire to train for a new sport, meditate regularly, get better quality sleep, spend more time with family,  lose weight, etc.  To get there, it may help to chose a discipline that has seemingly little to do with the outcome…look in the mirror every day and exclaim aloud that you are an athlete.  Meditate prior to bedtime with the mantra of “peace”.  Wear a bracelet in the color of the new dress you’ll purchase when you reach your weight loss goal.  Use visualization techniques to envision just who and where you’ll be with your training.  Or just sit quietly each day for ten whole minutes, enjoying the journey.

We don’t have change without discipline, action, and time.  It’s the dawn of a new you!