4th D Discipline

Proverbs 12:1Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid!
We don't want to be stupid!
At the end of the day what are all the disciplines boiled down too? It all has to do with Mark 12:30-31 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Hebrews 12:11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
How about you? How is your self-discipline? Plato said, " The first and best victory is to conquer self." If you want to be self-disciplined follow these points:1. Challenge your excuses.Get rid of the tendency to make excuses. If you come up with reasons why you aren't self-disciplined, realize these are barriers to your success that must be removed. We all have reasons why it's not convenient but the leader gets rid of those reasons in their mind so they can go on to the next level.2. Develop and maintain your priorities.Everyone is busy, but successful people have a plan. Figure out what is necessary for your goal and let the other stuff go. This will make it much easier to focus.3. Stay focused on results.Most of us want to focus on the difficulty of the work that must be put in, instead of focusing on the results. We have to stay away from doing what feels good and convenient and make sure we focus and pay the price that is necessary in full and up front. Keep in the front of your mind the benefits from accomplishing your goals and dive in. We need to track and examine ourselves. In 1 Corinthians 11:31 "But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way." We can't coach and help others if we won't look in the mirror.4. Make a disciplined lifestyle your goal. Self-discipline can't be a one-time event. It has to be an overall life philosophy. Develop systems and routines in all areas but specifically to the areas that are important to your main prioirities. Once you have them, put them into play every day.5. Rewards come at the end.If you lack self-discipline, it could be you are in the habit of eating dessert before you've eaten your vegetables. Success will always separate between the shirkers and the workers, because if it didn't we'd all be lazy.
At the end of the day...Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men. Since you know you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.