Tag Archive for: Discipline

Disciplined Hearts

Daily, missionaries are invited to be disciplined.
At the commencement of their service, each missionary receives a copy of “Missionary Standards for Disciples of Jesus Christ”.
I know that there is no discipleship without discipline.
Discipleship means discipline!
“Walking the path of discipleship takes practice — each day, little by little, grace for grace, line upon line. Sometimes two steps forward and one step back. The important thing is that you don’t give up; keep trying to get it right.” – Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Discipline

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞: the quality of being able to behave and work in a controlled way which involves obeying particular rules or standards.
The word discipline comes from the Latin word discere, ” to learn, ” or discipulus, ” learner, ” making a disciple a student and follower.
Each of us, with discipline and effort, has the capacity to control our thoughts and our actions.
Whilst serving, missionaries learn about being more disciplined, every day.
Typically, each day begins at 06.30 and ends at 10.30pm.
Daily activities include, reviewing goals, planning schedules, studying the scriptures, prayer, preparing lessons, finding people to teach, serving others in the community, working with local members, teaching lessons face to face and online, travelling and attending other meetings/activities.

Disciplined Hearts

It requires a disciplined heart to be an effective missionary.
“Small disciplines repeated with consistency everyday lead to great achievements gained slowly over time.” – John C. Maxwell.
Through discipline and devotion, and often challenging circumstances, missionaries become much more responsible and respectful in whatever they do.
I am a witness to the fact that discipline is something that can be developed and can act as a bridge between our goals and accomplishments.
“A disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering.” – Dalai Lama
Making a real effort to align our actions and behaviours with our thoughts is a sign of true discipline.
How do you develop your daily discipleship and discipline?

Self-reflection

Daily, I consciously make time for self-reflection.
It has been a life long practice.
Life is much more fruitful when I take some time to check in with myself!
Paradoxically, looking inwards, helps me to look outwards.
It brings perspective to your life.
Reflection requires courage.
As you look in the mirror of self-reflection, consider these questions:
Am I using my time wisely?
Am I living true to myself?
What surprised me today?
What am I doing about the things that matter most in my life? What do I need to change about myself?
What mistakes did I make today and what did I learn?
Have I made someone smile today?
It is so easy to get caught up in the daily vicissitudes of life.
Self-reflection is the key to help you understand what you stand for, what your values are, and in essence what matters most.
A time to consider your behaviour, your goals and whether you are on track.
The practice is all about learning, looking back on the day in order to contemplate your behaviour and its consequences.
It requires time to sit with yourself and take an honest moment to think about what emerged, what worked, what didn’t, what can be done, and what can’t.
Daily journaling is a great tool to enable you to capture your reflections.
I believe that the more self-reflective you are the easier it becomes to make choices in line with your values.
Self-reflection has been shown to significantly improve learning and performance.
The more aware you of your choices and their impact, then the better the decisions will be that you make now and in the future.
Take time to self-reflect – daily!

𝐎𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 – the key that opens every door.

“𝐎𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 is the key that opens every door.” – C.S. Lewis
Yet, 𝒐𝒃𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 is not a positive word these days.
Generally, I have found the Dutch (and I love them) do not want anyone telling them what to do!
𝐎𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞: “compliance with an order, request, or law or submission to another’s authority.”
From Antwerp to Utrecht, over the last couple of days – I’ve shared a quote from Boyd K. Packer that states “𝐎𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 ”
From “every door” to “cure-all.”
I want some of that.
Do you?
This is an exciting time to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
And even more so to serve as a full time missionary.
We are blessed to able to serve day in, day out with approximately 120 voluntary missionaries here in Belgium and the Netherlands.
They are remarkable.
Each of them has an obedient heart.

𝐎𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 is a principle of discipline, choice, and trust.

Learning of it, with exactness in our youth is “powerful spiritual medicine” that can and does act as a guide for each of them as they chart their journey through life.
“If you want to learn to fly an aeroplane, learn and follow the laws that govern gravity.
If you want to operate on the human heart, learn and follow the laws that govern the human body.
If you want to be happy, learn and keep the commandments.
It becomes a rather simple formula” – said Russell M. Nelson.
For your journey through life, one of the first things you need to know is this…
“There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated.
And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by 𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 to that law upon which it is predicated. (Doctrine & Covenants 130:20–21)
Please ponder that thought.
It states unmistakably the fact that there are principles upon which promises are predicated, and that obedience is the key to receiving blessings.
My experience is this – 𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 with exactness, always brings safety and inner peace.
I hope that each of us will choose to follow the simple formula of 𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 throughout our life.

“Will we take the stairs?”

Heading down to breakfast from our 6th floor hotel room in Brussels yesterday, in unison we said; “Will we take the stairs?”
It was followed by “it may be the only exercise we get today!”
And so, we opened the stairwell door and walked down happily together.
“They’re not as steep as Dutch stairwells for sure…” we quipped.
Following our breakfast, the climb back up the stairs to the 6th floor was a little tougher – that’s for sure!
Discipline is often a choice.
The harder right is 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 more difficult to face than the easier wrong. (At least that’s my experience!)
That’s why we are frequently not good at it and many of us can struggle.
It requires discipline!
The choice is always our own.
Please note that it was not wrong to take the lift, but it certainly would have been easier.
However, taking the harder path is, well…hard!
It frequently requires us to be uncomfortable and to give a little extra.
There are always consequences to routinely taking the path of least resistance as opposed to choosing the harder right.
Even if right decisions might be formidable, we need to strive to make them.
I know that if we make a choice 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 it happens, it will be easier when the situation presents itself.
For example – we always take the stairs, no matter the floor!
“May we ever choose the harder right, instead of the easier wrong” – Thomas S. Monson
How often do you choose the easy way, rather than the hard?

Self-Mastery

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤?
In recent months, I have enjoyed too many Dutch desserts (toetjes).
Subsequently, my waistline has expanded a little, by 5 kilo’s or 11 pounds.
Yesterday, I’d eaten healthily and had some exercise too – I was pleased with my progress.
By 8.00pm, my thinking had slowed down, I was starting to relax.
Then it happened!
𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌?
I had a craving for something sweet!!!
Do you know that feeling?
I walked in and out of the kitchen a few times.
I’d already had a few pieces of fruit through the day, blueberries, an apple, an orange….
Some raisins perhaps?
I’d had enough fruit.
Then I spotted a chocolate Toblerone bar.
I walked back out of the kitchen.
Luckily Monic was there.
I confessed my thoughts – she said, “You can do this!”
I know I didn’t need it, but I wanted it!
Don’t you?
Then it struck me.
I knew that 30 minutes later I’d regret eating the Toblerone, and it wasn’t worth the five minutes of enjoyment!
A few minutes later, some visitors arrived. After a pleasant short visit, they departed with every piece of chocolate we had in the house – including the Toblerone!
Through a little willpower, self-mastery and a great deal of help from Monic, I realised that present pleasure is nice, but the joys of overcoming, are a much more meaningful reward!
Be ever mindful of your downtime – thoughts come that you may regret!
Rather choose to apply the principles of self-mastery and discipline. A little help from a trusted friend never goes amiss too!
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤?

What personal battles do you face?

What do you wrestle with?
What is your biggest personal battle?
As unique individuals, we fight incredibly personal battles – daily.
In the Book of Mormon we read in Mosiah 3:19 “For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.”
Bending the will of our “𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒂𝒏” tendencies to the “𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕” is not easy.
In fact it is downright difficult.
Yet it is also simple.
It is something that requires daily, consistent, disciplined effort.
Prophets of yesteryear throughout the Bible and The Book of Mormon, and now in our time, modern day Prophets, constantly address their voice and their lives to these key matters:
– Spirit over flesh
– Discipline over permissiveness
– Reverence over scorn
As you wrestle, there are beautiful joyful moments to be found in daily prayer, repentance, seeking forgiveness, all to be found through the atonement of Jesus Christ.
A perfect day will come.
The doctrine of Christ teaches us that we can overcome these mortal trials as we yield our will as children, to the will of our Heavenly Father.
It is a simple invitation. The Saviour said “𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝑭𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝑴𝒆.”

Don’t interfere!

A recent experience reminded me that as a leadership coach, one of the greatest lessons I ever learned was that the best leaders have sense enough to pick good people to do what needs to be done. But more importantly, they also have self-restraint enough to stop themselves from meddling with them, while they do it!

My invitation today is a gentle reminder to all of us – to stop meddling! Instead, remember to trust others and simply let them get on with it!

Remember – leadership is a lifelong learning process.