What You Want MOST

Discipline is just choosing between what you want NOW 

and what you want MOST.

I like this saying because it reminds me that many times the situation I find myself in may be somewhat to my liking for the moment, but further down the road I will not be happy if I allow myself to settle there.

This could be a job that pays the bills but is not bringing me the satisfaction of making a difference in the world.  It could be a relationship that takes my time to cultivate but that would be wiser spent working toward an education goal.  It could be buying a car on credit and having to pay it off for a long time which would disable me from pursuing a long term financial goal.

Life has a way of distracting a person, and it is so easy to fall away from the path that will lead me to my ultimate dream or goal.  I might be comfortable in my present situation, and I think it is always important to be content, no matter what circumstances I find myself in. However, if I get too comfortable I can lose sight of my true goal, and not do the things that are required to pursue it.

It is often more pleasant to remain in your comfort zone than to face challenges that cause pain and ultimately growth, but in the end, choosing wisely will take you where you want to go MOST instead of living a mediocre existence. 

Doing the Easy Things

In a fairly famous speech by a motivational speaker, a man named Jim Rohn said that it is often the easy things that make or break our success.

 The things that are easy to do are also easy not to do.  

It is easy to make a call to a contact, but it is also easy not to do.
It is easy to read a motivational article each day, but it is also easy not to do.
It is easy to read the assignment ahead of time, but it is easy not to as well.

Those simple things we can do each and every day to improve our lot in life are cumulative and like compound interest, often build upon themselves to create a far reaching effect.  Not only does doing them affect us in a positive way, not doing them will usually affect us in a negative way.

For instance, I have enough dishes in my cupboard to last several days without washing them.  I can go four days without even running out of my favorite coffee mug!  But if I use all the dishes before I wash any of them, the negative effect will be that my kitchen is cluttered and I have no place to work, and it will take me twice as long to wash a large batch of dishes as it will to wash several small batches since I will have to stop midway through to dry and put them away to make room.

That is a silly example, but success in almost any arena of life is a series of small, seemingly inconsequential decisions and actions that add up.  Whether you choose to do the easy things each day or choose to wait until they are either too big or it is too late is up to you.

I hope you choose to do the easy things.