Today, my counselor mentioned that discipline is a skill, not a trait. Her comment struck me because I’ve always thought about discipline as a trait that someone has or doesn’t. She explained that there are ways to develop discipline in various areas of your life (e.g., food, exercise) which means it’s more about what you do than who you are.
As I thought about this more, I recalled a conversation I had with a friend about goals and what people are passionate about. He said (paraphrasing) that your passion is an activity that you do, even sacrificially, to accomplish a goal (e.g., improve health, better finances). Previously, I thought of passion as something you unquestionably enjoyed doing. This made me rethink how I looked at what my passions are.
In my mind, these two ideas about discipline and passion merge to create a powerful focus that is motivating me to develop more discipline. Firstd, instead of scolding myself as an undisciplined person, I can use available tools to build discipline in areas of need. Second, I see the need to be honest about what I am committing my time to.
If you’re like me, you may find yourself deeply committed to something for a short time until the focus shifts as other fun things come along. This causes progress made in one area to suffer. Then, the feelings of failure hit and the cycle continues. I think seeing discipline as a skill instead of a trait will help me to find more balance and focus on growth in the areas that will help me accomplish what I most hope to accomplish.
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