Saturday, March 23, 2013

A Paradigm Shift Regarding Self-Discipline

     Self-discipline....am I the only one who really hates thinking about this?  Like so many things that are good for us, it's definitely not a natural bent in our nature.  Similar to changing from an unhealthy diet to a healthy one, going from a huge lack in self-discipline to an ordered, disciplined life is no small challenge.  It is a change, however, that I am attempting to make.  I believe one of the things that may help me is a paradigm shift regarding self-discipline.

     One of the things I hate the most is missing out on something.  I want to be a part of what is going on, to be involved, to be connected, in the know.  Learning that saying no to a good thing in order to say yes to a better thing has not been easy.  All our lives we have to make decisions on a daily basis that will affect us. Do I stay in and do my homework or do I go outside and play with the neighbor kids?  Do I go out with friends and have fun or do I stay in the dorm to study for a crucial test?  Do I go to a party I've been looking forward to for a very long time or do I stay home with my sick child who needs their mother?  Often when we are faced with those decisions, we feel we have to constantly say no to ourselves to do the "responsible" thing, the right thing; however, I have begun to realize that by doing the "responsible" thing we are actually doing the loving thing for ourselves.

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Life @ the Speed of Thought

     I recently picked up a book by Bill Gates, "Business @ the Speed of Thought."  The title intrigued me.  I have a son who is incredibly inventive. He has so many ideas it's hard for him to communicate adequately all that is in his mind.  He thinks faster than he can talk, write and possibly type.  Oh to be able to think something and have it happen.  That of course is not our reality.  We all have many ideas, good intentions, dreams and plans, but making them a reality takes time, planning, resources and hard work.  My son often gets frustrated that he can't bring his ideas to fruition.  As a 15 year old, he doesn't have the tools, knowledge and resources needed to make his dreams a reality.  In time, I have no doubt that he'll accomplish much, but the waiting is a struggle.  Imagine a baby, not even able to crawl, who understands the concept of running.  He must wait for the day he is physically able to run.  There is no easy road.  It must be one day at a time.  My son must also bide his time and gain knowledge for the day when he can fulfill his dreams.
     Over the course of my life, I have often been frustrated in a different way.  I often have ideas for ways to improve lives and help those who are struggling or thoughts of businesses I think would succeed. So often if you are the one to bring up an idea, people have a tendency to say, "Great idea!  Why don't you do that?"  The reality of being a mother of six requires that my priority be my children for this season of my life.  It's not my time to start a business, a huge outreach to those who need help, or other such endeavor.  Even if it were, I would never be able to do all that comes to my mind.  Thus, the title for this post, borrowed somewhat from Bill Gates, is Life @ the Speed of Thought.  What if all the good we conceived in our minds could just happen?  What if we had the time, the resources, the energy to birth all that we could think of?