Self Discipline
July 25, 2012
Self discipline is an important part of recovery. Wikipedia defines self discipline as "
the ability to motivate oneself in spite of a negative emotional state." In active addiction we are often in a constant negative emotional state. Self worth is generally non existent and addiction is overall emotionally draining. Even though you may have made the beautiful choice of not using and instead choosing recovery, the lifestyle you were leading doesn't just leave with the drugs. There is a whole lot of work to be done now that you've chosen recovery and most of it is pretty darn hard. Self discipline can help you accomplish your goals for your new drug free life.
Think about how it would feel to be able to follow through with your goals and good intentions no matter what. Imagine how much you could achieve! Maybe you've been unemployed for years and you want to go out and get a job, make your own money. Its easy to say to yourself "I'm going to go out and get a job", but harder to follow through and get out there to look for a job and fill out applications. Chances are you haven't had a stable schedule in a very long time. Some of us need to push ourselves just to start getting up early, showering and get ready for the day even if we have nothing to do. Its the process that matters. So without self discipline, you'll probably keep telling yourself you need to get a job but won't be very pro-active about it. With self discipline however, you can get up, get out and get that job!
Now you've decided you need to build your self discipline, so how do you do it? Start choosing to work on challenges that you can overcome. I'm going to focus on using self discipline to form a new morning routine. As I mentioned before, maybe your morning routine leaves a lot to be desired. Start to envision what you want your morning routine to look like. Lets say you've been sleeping until noon, rolling out of bed onto the couch and watching tv for a few hours before actually getting up and out. First things first, you need to start getting up earlier. Tell yourself: "I'm going to get up at 11 for the next 2 days." You're much more likely to wake up at 11 as opposed to waking up at 7 am. After you get through the 2 days at 11 am, go for 10 am and so on until you're waking up at your goal time. Now decide what you want to do after you wake up. Take a shower, brush your teeth, wash your face. Something to kick start your morning. Since we're looking for a job, taking a walk in the morning to pick up a newspaper is a great thing to add to your pro active morning routine. Again, you don't have to transform your routine in one day. Work on putting it together piece by piece so as not to get discouraged. Each piece you connect will be another increase in your self discipline and you'll start to feel better about yourself too!
Think about how it would feel to be able to follow through with your goals and good intentions no matter what. Imagine how much you could achieve! Maybe you've been unemployed for years and you want to go out and get a job, make your own money. Its easy to say to yourself "I'm going to go out and get a job", but harder to follow through and get out there to look for a job and fill out applications. Chances are you haven't had a stable schedule in a very long time. Some of us need to push ourselves just to start getting up early, showering and get ready for the day even if we have nothing to do. Its the process that matters. So without self discipline, you'll probably keep telling yourself you need to get a job but won't be very pro-active about it. With self discipline however, you can get up, get out and get that job!
Now you've decided you need to build your self discipline, so how do you do it? Start choosing to work on challenges that you can overcome. I'm going to focus on using self discipline to form a new morning routine. As I mentioned before, maybe your morning routine leaves a lot to be desired. Start to envision what you want your morning routine to look like. Lets say you've been sleeping until noon, rolling out of bed onto the couch and watching tv for a few hours before actually getting up and out. First things first, you need to start getting up earlier. Tell yourself: "I'm going to get up at 11 for the next 2 days." You're much more likely to wake up at 11 as opposed to waking up at 7 am. After you get through the 2 days at 11 am, go for 10 am and so on until you're waking up at your goal time. Now decide what you want to do after you wake up. Take a shower, brush your teeth, wash your face. Something to kick start your morning. Since we're looking for a job, taking a walk in the morning to pick up a newspaper is a great thing to add to your pro active morning routine. Again, you don't have to transform your routine in one day. Work on putting it together piece by piece so as not to get discouraged. Each piece you connect will be another increase in your self discipline and you'll start to feel better about yourself too!
Posted by Danielle Danielle.