's motd Friday January 9, 2009 - Discipline

[Guest guest]

THE 'D' WORD

Friday, 09 January 2009

Oh I can see it in your eyes. You think that "D" stands for diet, right? And you think we're going to be talking about diets today, don't you? Well, I'm afraid you would be wrong. Today, we're going to talk about another "D" word and that would be...discipline!

If you think about it, we've really been disciplined all our lives. And we're taught discipline by our parents, our relatives, our teachers in school and often from others in our lives.Among the first words parents use with their kids are do and don't. You can do this but you can't do that. If you do it, the right thing that is, you'll build discipline for yourself. But if you don't do the right things...you'll be punished!Now me, I needed a lot of discipline when I was a kid and I especially got it from my father. See, my father served his country in the Army where he also learned to become a very disciplined man. He lived by the schedule he made for himself and he stuck to that schedule, no matter what.

And if it just so happened that I wasn't doing exactly as I was told, I'd get sent to my bedroom. I'd also get a good talking to. And let me tell you, my father didn't always talk to me in a very "peaceful" manner, either!Oh, those times when he had to discipline me, his eyes would sometimes get so big...like a frog! And when he was really mad about something I'd done, I'd smile at him and tell him how much I loved him. Thankfully, that little tactic would work on him sometimes too! But I have to say that, thanks to my dad, I did learn a lot about discipline growing up. Thanks to him, I learned to make my own schedule and stick with it.You know, discipline is a very important quality for all of us to have, especially when it comes to losing weight. People who're not disciplined gain weight. Remember the do's and don'ts I talked about when we were kids? Well, they still apply today. If you do eat healthy and exercise regularly, you will lose weight. And if you don't, you'll get punished. How?

Well, your body actually begins to punish you. You can't walk as well as you once did. You can't climb those stairs like you used to or get on the floor and play with your kids. You don't breathe so well anymore and you find yourself getting sick more often. The body can also punish you with conditions like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, hardening of the arteries and you can end up with a host of other medical problems. And sadly, the final punishment would be to end up leaving this earth sooner than you should simply because you did not take good care of yourself.How does one begin to discipline themselves? Simple, you start out by making a plan. That plan should include deciding what time you're getting up each morning and what you have to do for yourself and others during the day. You have to make time in that day to eat your healthy meals and to do your workouts. And once you get everything on your list done for the day, give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back and prepare your new plan for tomorrow.Just remember, you've got to have that discipline!Love,