Focus Forward

We are now coming to the time of year when focusing is extremely difficult, especially when it comes to focusing on yourself. Whatever your goal is: eat more, eat less, get to the gym, sleep in, wake up early, or when you try to get some good old fashioned "you" time set aside, it is very easy to come up with excuses and reasons why you can't keep yourself on track. The holidays prove to be the worst and most difficult time to try. However, with a little inner discipline, anything can be accomplished.
I found this article on the internal website at work, and wanted to forward on to all of you to read. Hopefully it is just the right motivator to keep you on track to really attain whatever goal you have set for yourself, and want to stick to.
I read this again and again. It sounds very simple in print, but is not always easy to accomplish in real life. Little excuses can rear their ugly heads and make it difficult to stay on track. Here are a few things I tell myself when I stray too far from my goals:
-Remember the end result
-Remember how good it feels when things actually come to fruition
-Never lose sight of yourself or who you are, or the reason behind your persistence
-Don't apply unnecessary pressure....whether on you or someone else...no one else should be responsible or accountable for your actions
-Never use materialistic things as a means to accomplish a purpose
-Life throws plenty of curve balls at you.........WHEN you fall down, get right back up and push forward with fervor
-Stay positive......negativity can replicate breeding bacteria and can consume you, often times making you digress
-Be flexible......things don't always have to be completed in one certain way......learn to use change and unforeseen happenings as a way to combat onesidedness
-Learn to adapt to the unknown........this can often lead to many new doorways you never knew existed
-Be true to yourself and realistic in your goals........and don't show fear in rewarding yourself on a job well done.............I feel this is one of the most important.
-Don't be something you are not.....others pick up on this and regard you as disingenuous


Read the article below for a very honest and straightforward approach to mind over matter.

"The Art And Science Of Self-Discipline, by Robin Sharma

Study anyone who has achieved a measure of greatness, from the CEOs and entrepreneurs who have built wildly successful businesses to the best mothers, fathers, teachers and poets, and you will be studying discipline in motion. Discipline is the cornerstone of self-mastery. The ancient Eastern book of wisdom, the Bhagavad-Gita says: "without discipline, he has no understanding of inner power; without inner power, he has no peace; and without peace, where is joy?" Self-discipline is a fundamental virtue to inner-power. Discipline is the source, the wellspring, that lets you live the life that you deserve. You must strengthen your inner core if you are truly dedicated to manifesting your highest potential for personal and professional success. With discipline, you will possess the inner fire needed to focus on your primary goals and realize your dreams. The Real Secret Of Discipline I define discipline as the virtue that gives you the courage and the inner resolve to do what you said you would do, when you said you would do it. Discipline is all about promise keeping. I am not talking only about those promises you have made to others, such as your promise to your child to take her to the zoo this weekend, or your promise to your partner that you will become a better listener. I am also talking about the promises that you make to yourself; those small daily resolutions ranging from the promise to read 30 minutes a day to a personal commitment you have made to raise the standards of your work at the office. Discipline means that you take time away from the little emergencies which seem to eat up your day to kindle the fire of self-mastery. Discipline means that you get up early to go for a run on a freezing winter's day because you made this one of your personal mastery milestones, and you are dedicated to raising the level of your physical fitness. Discipline means that you refuse an invitation to go out to a party on Saturday night because you had planned to review your goals and refine your purpose statement, and think deeply about where your personal, professional and spiritual life is going. Discipline is having the power to turn off the TV and go into your study to read some of those books that you know will truly improve your effectiveness. Discipline is having the bravery and the inner strength to stop giving so much time to the unimportant things in your life and to start directing your energy to those high-impact activities which will truly make a measurable difference in the richness of your life. Integrating the habit of discipline into your days takes effort, willpower and courage. Having the discipline to follow through on the life goals you have set for yourself and living the kind of life you have imagined in your mind's eye is a very brave way to live. It is a very noble way to live. It is also a very liberating way to live, because you have become the master of your own life. You begin to take control of your destiny. It's the source of great enlightenment. You set your course, and then, you have the resolve to follow it. And this also leads to tremendous amounts of confidence because you realize that you alone are the one who influences your life, and if you don't like what you see, you can change it. You shape your circumstances rather than letting them shape you. You become the master of your life, rather than letting life master you. Building Discipline How do you build self-discipline? The principle can be stated in seven words: put off short-term gratification for long-term satisfaction. You build discipline by sacrificing what is easy to do for what is right to do. When you put off doing what is impulsive -- those things that simply feel good in the moment but offer no long-term benefits -- and start doing what your heart tells you is good, you start to build discipline. When you do the things you don't like to do but know you should do, you build discipline. This is the seed of greatness. As H. P. Liddon noted sagely: "What we do upon some great occasion will probably depend on what we already are; and what we already are will be the result of previous years of self-discipline." The top performers on the playing fields of business and life continuously raise their standards. They realize they are bound for glory and destined to actualize the full extent of their personal genius. So they have done their inner work and are focused on achieving personal excellence. They know that they are here for a life of meaning and action. Leaders have the wisdom to understand that self-mastery comes one day at a time. And the days slip into weeks. And the weeks into months. And a time comes when those small, daily improvements in their discipline levels have created extraordinary results in life quality. Three Lessons For Creating Self-Discipline Finish what you start - As a trial lawyer with many competing demands on my time, it is essential that I, at all times, have the strength of will to follow the daily plan I have set for myself and concentrate only on those pursuits which are central to my mission. To cultivate the kind of discipline required to be able to do this, a philosophy I apply in my own life is to finish what I start. This simple practice is enormously effective because in practicing it, you are no longer a slave to your weaker impulses which silently prod you to take the path of least resistance and quit before your goal is reached, no matter how small that goal may be. Instead, you are in full control of your self and use your inner power to accomplish worthy ends, whether this means completing a hot new book on creativity, learning a new language or growing a dynamic business. Be silent - As I discovered when researching my first book, MegaLiving, the Buddhist monks have a favorite strategy to build willpower, one that has been used by many cultures over the years to build enormous amounts of inner strength and resolve. It is the vow of silence. You might wonder how would staying quiet for days on end build willpower? It is because you are exerting force on your will. You are not giving in to the impulse telling you to talk. You made a promise and set a goal that you would be silent for a few hours, or maybe even a full day, and then, you had the courage to keep this promise. And this courage and capacity quickly spills over into every other area of your life. Following through on this small goal builds your capacity to follow through on larger goals, like managing your time more efficiently or building richer relationships or mastering your physical endowments. Get up early - Early rising is one of the key life habits of so many highly successful people I have studied, from Ted Turner to Nelson Mandela. In my own life, I've now trained myself to get up around 5 a.m., since I have found that rising at this time allows me the time I need to write peacefully and think deeply. Without a doubt, it's one of the best things I do for myself. But I earned the rewards I have received from getting up early. I wasn't always an early riser. Yet the more I studied the lives of the people who were truly creating happier, healthier and more meaningful lives than others, the more I realized the value of getting up early. And the more I exercised the power of my will, and got up from a warm bed to do what I had promised myself I would do, the stronger it became. Above all else, however, the real key is this: discipline in your outer world comes from a disciplined inner world. And a disciplined inner world comes from thinking correct, inspiring, disciplined and enlightened thoughts. Your thoughts form your world. Life management begins with mind management. And as you exercise your character power to build self-discipline, meditate on these words of Emerson: "That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do, not that the nature of the thing has changed but that our ability to do has increased." "