I kept going back and forth about what I wanted January’s Pick of The Month to be and I decided on self-discipline. Discipline is an activity, exercise, or regimen that develops or improves a skill. Self-discipline is when you apply that to yourself. 

Why practice self-discipline? 

I’ve realized that I needed an overhaul in how I operate daily and I choose self-discipline because that’s what’s going to help me achieve that. I can honestly say I spend too much time scrolling through social media. I’m not engaging with people or creating content. Just scrolling. I knew I wasn’t being productive but it’s like I was addicted. Eventually, I grew frustrated with myself and utilized the Digital Wellbeing app on my phone to review how much time I was spending using certain apps. What I found wasn’t surprising; I learned that I could set daily time limits for myself. For my most problematic app, I set a daily time limit of 1 hour. That’s about 1/3 of the average amount of time I was spending endlessly scrolling and sending memes to my friends. Ridiculous. It’s been interesting though. My phone gives notifications when I’m getting close to my limit and it gives me the option to add more time if I like. Exercising self-discipline has been me tapping “dismiss” instead of “add more time”. It’s made me conscious of how I’m spending my free time on social media apps in addition to how much time I’m spending on them. 

Another practice I’ve been exercising over the past couple of months is meditation. I won’t get too deep into that right now but I will say that it also requires discipline. There are some evenings (my designated meditating time) that I don’t even want to do it. I’d rather curl up under my sheets and snuggle with myself or whoever is around until I warm up and fall asleep. And I’ve been guilty of doing just that. 

Other areas in my life require discipline as well but the two I mentioned previously are at the top of my list. I literally have a list!

Restructuring habits via self-discipline

The goal for my new journey is not to follow the latest trend but to really increase my quality of life. Change doesn’t happen overnight and neither do healthy habits. It starts one day at a time with a little bit, or a lot, of self-discipline. Any amount of self-discipline regarding a healthier lifestyle is a step in the right direction. Be patient with yourself and expect to stumble at first, that’s normal. Set reminders on your phone, journal your experience and share them with a friend or all of the above. If what you’re doing isn’t working, restructure your method until you find what fits you. 

I think it is important to set realistic expectations of yourself but also, don’t sell yourself short. Really challenge yourself. Just because something is hard doesn’t mean it can’t be rewarding. Emotionally and physically

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