Watching others succeed

It can be hard to see other people succeed. 

It is difficult to watch others hit new personal records in the weight room, while you're still grinding it out not seeing the gains you’d like. 

It can be harder still to watch your neighbor or friend purchase that new car or house you’d like. 

Worse still is the never-ending onslaught of envy social media brings. Moment after moment of each day, you are reminded of what others are doing, seeing, and achieving while you remain “stuck” where you are. 

It’s a universal problem, and we all must deal with it. 

You’ve got to shift your mindset. 

You’ve got to realize that there is plenty of success to go around. 

Life is not like a pie with a limited number of slices. 

No, in life the possibilities are limitless. Potential abounds for not only you, but every single person to be, do, and achieve more. 

Start relishing in the success of others. Cheer them on and sincerely encourage them along the way. 

Not only will you lift their spirits, but yours as well. 

In doing so you’ll come to realize that giving and receiving are two sides of the same coin. 

It’s impossible to give without receiving something in return, even if that something is but a warm and cheerful feeling. 

You receive a great deal more than warm feelings in reality though. You receive co-ownership of their success. Every time you look upon their achievements you’re reminded of just how happy you are for them and share in their joy. 

All of which makes it much more likely you’ll reach your own mountaintop at long last. 

When you do finally reach the snow-crested peak of your own achievements, there will be a host of others there to greet and celebrate with you. 

Financial Discipline

Part of living a disciplined life is exercising financial discipline. 

Among many things, that means living within a budget. 

If you don’t have a monthly budget, create one—one well within your means is best. 

Give every dollar a job and watch how your life changes. 

Living within a budget may sound restricting, but just like every other area of your life, that discipline brings freedom. 

Teamwork makes the dream work

Personal growth isn't a one-man show. 

Too many look at life and believe they must go it alone. 

Nothing could be farther from the truth. 

In fact, you need other people in your life to help you. People who will encourage, challenge and correct you along the way. 

If you want to grow and reach big goals, you’ll need to assemble a group of warriors to go to battle alongside.

The idea of a warrior is the perfect picture to keep in mind because soldiers don’t go into battle alone. No matter how well trained or tough they may be, they can’t make it on their own. They need a team. 

And so do you. 

Get busy assembling the group of men and women you want to fight weakness and sin alongside. People you can trust to have your best interests in mind, even if that means telling you things you don’t want to hear. 

Work's value

What do you think and how do you feel when you work hard and come up short? 

Are you frustrated, upset and feel like it was all a waste of time? 

That’s how most people look at things. If they didn’t reach their goal or dream it was all for not. 

Reaching goals is nice, but it’s not the whole ball game. 

There is value in the work you do. 

Even if you don’t fully reach your goal or an outcome you’d prefer, the work you do matters. 

Work is good for you and works good within you. 

This is especially true when the work you do is disciplined work. When you delay gratification and suffer for the long-term payoff you accomplish far more than you realize. 

You build character, strength, and resolve that comes no other way. 

It’s easy when you’re at your best and full of life, but that’s not how you grow. Your best days come when you’re not 100% and do it anyway.   

Embrace the process and commit to it like nothing else. 

It will benefit you like nothing else can, even if that means you come up short on a goal or two. 

Why discipline?

You want to be the very best version of yourself you can possibly be. You want to be bigger, stronger, smarter, and tougher than you were yesterday. You want health and happiness to abound in your life. Because you want to know God’s Word so well that it falls from your lips and informs your life without your realizing it. Because you desire strong, deep, and lasting relationships. Because you want to be the very best father you could ever be to your children. Because you want to be the best husband you’re capable of being to your wife. 

For all these reasons and a hundred more, you choose discipline. 

It’s not an easy path to walk. It involves getting up earlier, working harder and forcing yourself to do things you’d rather skip. But in the end, it’s the only path that’ll get you even close to the most important things in your life. Things that make hardship seem trivial.