Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments, and that bridge must be crossed every day. ~John Maxwell in The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth
It’s another new beginning.
As we start our school year this week, I have goals for myself and our children for the coming months. What will it take to reach those goals?
Discipline.
As I seek to implement discipline in order to accomplish my goals, here are three things that I need to do.
- Define my goals. I do this by asking myself questions, such as the following: What do I want a typical school day to look like? Which skills do I want my children to master? What can I do to add a bit of fun to our learning? I must keep my goals simple and measurable.
- Establish routines. This is nothing more than putting procedures into place that will lead me to meet my goals. We’ve had a good schedule in the past, so I just need to take a few minutes to review it and see if we need to make any adjustments. I’ll do the same about a week into the school year. I also want to continue meeting my yearly goal of having one fun homeschool day each month.
- Realize the “dailiness” of discipline. While we may occasionally throw our schedule out the window, the reality is that most days we need to exercise discipline and follow our routine in order to succeed.
This principle doesn’t just apply to school, but to many areas of life, including fitness, healthy eating, and certainly spiritual growth. If I want to memorize a chapter of the Bible, I need to practice it every day. If I want to strengthen my prayer life, I have to set aside a certain time each day to dedicate to praying.
In what area of your life would you like to have more discipline?
Great reminder about how to achieve goals!
I need more discipline in cleaning the house because I hate to do it!
Cleaning house. I do it…almost never. Only before people are about to arrive. I hate it more than anything. Except for maybe bugs & the dentist…