Discipline II – Take Action

“But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”

1 Corinthians 9:27

“A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.”

Proverbs 25:28

What trait of a disciple is more important than discipline? There is none better. Discipline is the ability to take the actions you must take regardless of how you feel about that action in the present moment. Emotions mean nothing here, so cast them aside. This faith is all about your actions. The second you start thinking that you need to be motivated or that you need to be “In the mood” your faith begins to decay. Very few men are always in the mood to do what is right. The right choice is usually inconvenient, does not promote survival directly and usually takes willpower to act on. The fuel to take these difficult actions in discipline.

Discipline is what kicks you out of bed on time immediately after your alarm clock goes off. Weakness hits the snooze button.

Discipline is what brings you to church on Sunday even though you would rather be in bed or doing something else on one of the only two days you have to get away from the workplace. By using discipline you read scripture and pray daily, without fail, and with no excuses if you do fail. 

The church under-values discipline because they overvalue the idea of feeling like doing the right thing. The church does not preach about the fact that most days you are going to want to reject what is right and do what caters to your own lusts. This is the nature of the human being, and the church has a responsibility to teach people about their true nature. In this way religious leaders are falling short continually. 

Through discipline you reject your lusts. Discipline says that it does not matter how you feel, you must do what is right. The religious world promotes the romanticized view of Christians that suggests they are smiling through every inconvenience they face. Maybe some, but they are the few. Few people in the world admire those types of Christians anyways. The men who are admired are the Christians who do what is right despite how difficult and inconvenient it is. 

At the close of the day, it does not matter how happy you are, or how long you can paint on a smile, it only matters if you can take the right actions or not. Plenty of people feel great about their religion and they do not take on single action for the sake of it. That is the fate of most people. Reprogram your mind to see the vast importance of discipline, and the extreme unimportance of emotions. 

Mantra

“Discipline equals Freedom” ~Jocko Willink, retired US Navy SEAL

Application

Take up your cross. This is an action, not a feeling. The cross is heavy and difficult to bear. If it isn’t, we should take some time to examine our faith and ask, “Am I really doing work for the Lord, or am I a loser?”

When you don’t feel like taking action, you act anyways. How do you take action? By taking action. The question of “how do you do it” is a loaded question because what the person is really asking is, “How do I find the motivation to take this action?” or “How do I get to a point where I am feeling like taking this action”. The question is all wrong, because you are not going to feel like it. If anything, the motivation and good feelings will come after you have taken disciplined action. You don’t feel like training, but you train anyways, then afterward you are filled with a sense of pride in the accomplishment.

Now you feel like it. 

You have to overcome the lack of motivation with discipline knowing you will be rewarded in the long run for your action. Stop attempting to base all your actions on how you feel in the present moment. Find the actions you know to be good, and start taking them. There is no secret here. Discipline will eventually begin to take over. Taking the good actions will be a habit that you need less motivation for each time. Eventually you can run on pure habit and discipline. So grow some nuts. Get to work. Be a Man.

1. Identify a desired behavior (Physical training)
2. Break it into small subunits (sets, reps, running distance)
3. Take the smallest possible action (put your shoes on/put on your gym clothes/warm up) and the motivation will follow later. 

Conduct Yourselves Like Men.