I cannot believe that it has been two weeks since I posted anything to this blog. On another blog, I just entered a post on discipline and the fact that I have been very undisciplined during the last six weeks. My lack of discipline is certainly evident here.
I think discipline has always been a problem for me. I tend to procrastinate and then have to work under pressure. Procrastination and working under pressure are, however, very stressful; and the older I get, the more negatively stress effects me.
When I was in high school, I did not have to do a lot of studying to make (what I considered then) acceptable grades. I could have, and should have, done much better than I did. When I entered college, I discovered that my study habits were not really adequate for the grades I wanted to make. If I had been more disciplined in high school, I would probably have been much more successful in college.
When I was in fifth grade, I was diagnosed with Amblyopia (also called "lazy eye") and had to wear a patch over one eye for about a year. I had very little sight in my left eye, and it was very difficult for me to do my school since I could only use my "bad" eye. My mother had to help me a lot with my school work until my "bad" eye gradually improved and became at least adequate. To my amazement, I made some of my best grades during that school year. I was so afraid of failing that I worked harder than usual with greater success than usual.
After taking a year off from college between my sophomore and junior year, I returned to school determined to be successful and get my college degree. At the end of my first term back, I earned the best grades I had ever gotten - I believe my GPA was a 3.66 (or higher - not lower). I did well the next term too though my grades were not quite as high. The last term of that year was also good, but I was engaged by that time and planning to get married in August - my focus was not quite the same as it had been in August/September of the previous year.
Discipline is very important, and I will begin tomorrow to rebuild some of the discipline that has been lacking during the last six weeks.
Blessing to you all.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Good to hear from you again. Discipline is never easy. I have spent a life time being very good at procrastinating and equally good at working under pressure. I began to try to change this about 15 years ago when I realized that sometimes my procrastination was really a way of letting my mind mull something over until it was read to "go to work." I came to realize that there were two different types of procrastination. The first type is when you just don't want to do something; like exercise, cleaning out a closet, or some other activity that you don't enjoy. That is negative procrastination and nonproductive. This type of procrastination requires discipline. I am now much more aware of those things that I don't want to do and try to put a plan into place so that I get them done sooner. Sometimes, I do one of those activities first thing in the morning and then do something else afterwards that i want to do. Sometimes I tell myself that I'm just going to do a small part of it today and the rest of it later in the week. I often find that once I start on that project, it isn't as bad as I thought and I go ahead and finish the whole thing. Either way I feel good and energized and get a lot more accomplished that day.
ReplyDeleteHowever, procrastinating on projects that require "brain power;" such as a school assignment, solving a problem, or writing a lesson is actually beneficial if you learn how to use it. Now, whenever I have to create something or make a major decision, I have a "mental" conversation with myself. I tell myself what it is I need to do and then I forget about it. I let my mind go to work while I do something else. My mind will send me mental "alerts," which come in the form of an insight or new approach to the project. When I get one of these, I think about the project again to see if my mind is ready to go to work. Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't. In that case, I wait for the next "alert." The discipline part of this is that you can't start thinking about it the day before you need it. You have to start the thinking process far enough out to give it time to incubate. This works for me because it allows me to do what I do best...work under pressure. Only this pressure is positive. This pressure is the energy that comes from the processing that has been going on in my mind; so that when it is ready to go it is like hearing the starting gun at a race, and I am in position to get going!
Praying for you and wishing you the best in whatever task you set for yourself. Blessings to you to.
ReplyDeleteThis is an Oops! I left one o off the last word,too. Whatever perfection is, it is mine to strive for, but not to have and to hold.
ReplyDelete