help others change their
thinking, then you can
help them change their
habits too. What we think
determines who we are. Who
we are determines what we
do. Bad thinking results in
bad habits. Good thinking
results in good habits.
At the core of how we think
is our overall attitude toward
life. Many people think life
should be easy. That thinking
causes them to expect
everything to come to them
without effort. They watch
and wait, hoping success
will come and find them. It
won’t. We can settle and
assume that everything will
come to us. Or we can take
control of our lives and make
things happen. If we don’t
take control of our lives,
someone else will. And they
may not want what we want
for our lives.
4. Self-Discipline Is
Developed—Not Given
The first step to developing
self-discipline is awareness.
You need to see where
you’re falling short. I want to
give you three tips to help
you develop self-discipline if
this has been a difficult area
for you.
Self-Disciplined People Avoid
Temptation
Recently, during a time I was
working hard to lose weight,
my friend Traci Morrow, who
was coaching me, said,
“John, the success of your
diet is determined at the
grocery store. Don’t bring
home food that is not good
for you. Leave it on the
shelves of the store, not on
the shelves in your kitchen.”
People who develop self-
discipline and positive habits
don’t put themselves in
the line of fire. If they want
to lose weight, they don’t
keep junk food in their desk
drawers. If they’re trying to
stop spending money, they
don’t go hang out at the
mall. They intentionally avoid
temptation.
Lack of discipline is the lid
on many people’s potential.
That’s the bad news. How-
ever, there’s also good news: Self-Disciplined People Know
self-discipline is not something When to Expend Their Energy
you have to be born with. It is
something you can develop. It is impossible to be at 100
percent all day, every day.
It’s earned, not given.
And it’s not necessary.
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