You will fail.

You will drop the ball. 

You will backslide. 

You will give in to weakness. 

No matter how disciplined you are, it will happen at some point in your life.

What then? 

What will you do about it? 

How will you respond? 

You will have at least two choices. 

Choice 1: Give in completely, wallow in your mess, and stay there. 

Choice 2: Correct course, divert your energy back towards discipline and move towards good and right things. 

The first path is easy, which is why so many choose it. 

The second is impossibly difficult, yet leads to every good thing in life. 

Which will you choose?
 

Setting The Tone

Your alarm sounds in the early morning hours and you rouse from your slumber to turn it off. 

That’s your first action of the day—to make the incessant beeping stop. 

But what’s your next move?

Rolling back over to for a little extra rest? 

Telling yourself, “Just ten more minutes?” 

Or do you spring to action? 

Do you climb out of bed and start your day? 

Truth be told, there’s nothing inherently wrong with sleeping in. 

No one is going to look down on you because you choose to get up at the last possible moment before having to leave for work. 

So why do it? 

If sleeping in isn’t wrong, why give up the extra sleep?

You give up the comfort and warmth of your bed because among other things it sets the tone for your day. 

How you respond to that first test sets you on a path. A path towards strength, action, and victory. Or a path towards timidity, reaction, and weakness. 

There are two paths and the one you choose determines a great deal. 

At what cost?

You’re given a choice each time you’re hurt. 

You could return fire and respond in kind. Or you could let it go and move on. 

Be wary of the path you choose. 

In selecting your response, you decide the person you’ll become. 

There are few, if any, neutral decisions. Each one helps form the picture of who you are today, and who you’ll be down the road. 

It may feel good to dish sarcasm, wit and venom upon your foes, but at what cost? 

A victory pursued, or even attained, in the wrong way is a hollow one. In fact, it’s not a victory at all. It’s a loss. In becoming like your enemy to beat your enemy, you become the thing you hated in the first place. Becoming evil to beat evil allows evil to win. 

You’re not called to take the path that feels good. You’re called to take the path of righteousness. The path that leads to kindness, gentleness, and character. 

Choose the right path regardless how difficult or hard it is. Stay out of the mud. 

Do it enough and you’ll become the man or woman you hoped to be. And that will make all the mud slung your way worth it, even if no one else can tell. 

Why Don't We Eat What We Know We Should?

Your health and life aren’t determined by what you know, but rather by what you actually do. Knowledge is great but it’s the actions you take that matter more. No area is this more apparent than in what we eat.  

We know most of our food should come from good, whole, nutritious sources. Things like fruits, veggies, and whole grains. 

We also know that we should avoid processed meats and foods. Things like pecan wheels, Oreos, and deli meat. 

But we don’t. At least not on a large scale. 

And many of the illnesses and health issues we face are a direct result. 

“For the first time in history,” Michael Pollan said, “man has created a diet that makes him sick.” 

We know the right things to do, but fail to act. Why? 

The answer: Discipline. 

We lack the discipline to make good food choices.

We lack the strength of will to say, “No,” to the sugary lies the entice us to pick up the donut instead of the apple or hand full of almonds. 

Health, happiness, and fulfillment are often by products on the road to discipline. Take that path. You’ll be glad you did. 

Attitude Over Circumstances

The quality of your life and character isn’t determined by circumstances external to you—the things that happen to you. Both are determined by the internal choices and decisions you make in light of them. 

Which is good news because you can actually do something about them. 

“It is not as important to change our circumstances,” Tim Keller says, “as it is to change our heart’s attitude and stance toward them.” 

Your attitude is the key to turning even the worst situation around. How you think drives everything else. 

It’s easy to have a positive attitude when things are going well. But it’s a different story when they’re not. Those are the moments you need encouragement from a good friend. I want to be that good friend for you today, and remind you of a few things. 

Every situation (good or bad) has the potential to shape and impact you for the better. It might be hard and nearly impossible to get through, but it can make you tougher, stronger, and better if you’ll let it. The mental game is always the hardest part of any battle. Staying positive and upbeat when the waves are crashing about you is perhaps the most difficult thing you face on a regular basis. 

When things aren’t going well, I want you to remember what good things it could mean for you. Opportunities to grow and learn. Opportunities to be a better version of yourself today than you were yesterday. Opportunities that remind you why you’re here in the first place.

Check your thoughts the next time you find yourself in the damp dark pit of self-pity. Remind yourself that you’ve still got gas in the tank and some fight left in you. You’re not that easy to beat. You will never quit. You’re tough enough to hang in there and find the silver lining to even the darkest cloud. A silver lining that keeps you pushing forward and driving on when things are at their lowest.