I have written before about how easily distracted I can be. I set some challenging goals for myself for October and managed to hit only a few. It is easy to set these goals when I have a day off and it seems I have lots of time, but then I go back to work and life gets busy. But my biggest challenge is me. It is easy to find excuses for not reaching my goals and push it off on to other people or circumstances. “If my situation had been different, then I would have…” “If someone else would have done what I wanted them to, then I would have…”
But the reality is my successes or failures are not the responsibility of other people or my circumstances. It is my responsibility. It is discipline. I had a mentor that would say “you can reach your goal or you can make excuses, but you can’t do both.” He would also tell me “Discipline, not desire, determines destiny.” The world is full of people that want to, but there are very few that are disciplined to.
I have always wanted to play piano, but I’ve never been disciplined enough to sit down and practice. Now I say “I’m too old to start now.” I can make excuses or I can play piano, but I can’t do both. I can want to play piano, but until I discipline myself to sit down and practice, it will always be just a dream.
October was a good month and I enjoyed the challenges I laid out for myself. I did accomplish a lot around the house (I’ll share some of that soon) and I finished some other tasks that I had taken on. It is always good to get those tasks checked off my to do list. November and December will be some challenging months, as well, as I take on some more unfinished tasks and continue to develop that discipline to finish. When it comes to projects (especially those around the house), I am a great planner and starter, but finishing has never been my strength. It’s all discipline… and being easily distracted by the shiny new project. It is time to file away that list of new projects and finish what I have already started. Discipline, not desire, determines destiny.
Thumbs Up!