A friend of mine shared this mantra on her Facebook wall a couple weeks ago, and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head:
“Keep doing the hard things until the hard things become the easy things.”
Isn’t that the essence of discipline? Choose to do the hard things — even when you don’t feel like it — and eventually you’ll develop habits so that those things are no longer a struggle.
I think about it when I’m tempted to skip evening devotions with the girls, when I’d rather put the clean laundry in a basket to fold later, when I’d rather do anything than cook dinner or when the book I’m reading is calling my name while my to-do list is still a mile long.
And you know what? It’s not just some trite saying; it’s true.
Since I made a personal commitment earlier this summer to develop better discipline and began attacking one area at a time through our Family Boot Camp, I’ve seen progress. Not perfect progress, of course, and if I’m sure of one thing it’s that I never will be perfect. But each time I choose to do the hard thing, it gets just a little bit easier!
What hard things do you need to practice doing?
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Mandi Ehman is the founder and publisher behind Life Your Way and the co-author of All in Good Time, as well as a wife and the homeschooling mom to four beautiful girls. She lives with her family on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia and loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces. |
