Personal Growth through Sacrifice and Discipline
Sacrifice of self to self. What does it mean? It means letting
go of the old self for a new and better self. This is a hard
thing to do as we get comfortable with whom and what we are. Our
old self is familiar, seems safe, and is relatively effortless
to maintain.
Change takes us beyond our boundaries, challenges us to what is
not familiar, and forces us to give up well-worn habits. It
requires effort and sacrifice of things we have learned to
enjoy. Those are things that are pleasant but stand in the way
of highest good.
We think we are a mind and a body and do what we can to satisfy
the desires of mind and body. Seldom do we step beyond. Being
stuck in a limited perception, the selfish do not sacrifice.
Do you want to live forever? Well, maybe you do live forever,
but not as you are now. Death means new beginning. Sometimes we
are not ready for it. Other times we feel stagnant and embrace
it.
What does it mean to die daily? It means sacrificing your
immediate wants to affect a future result or metamorphosis.
Actually sacrificing of self to self, quite often to the benefit
of others as well. Totally surrender your self and you will find
your true self.
Giving is a virtue. You've no doubt heard that it is better to
give than to receive. But oh, how we all like to receive!
Receiving is good too. Exchange cannot take place without both
present. One cannot take place without the other, and it is not
just a one-way exchange.
There is a law of compensation. If you give, you get. We do not
live in a vacuum. Our actions always bring results of one kind
or another, whether we immediately realize it or not.
What I am saying is do not ever feel frustration when trying to
improve your self. Any efforts you make do not go wasted; so do
not think there is such a thing as wasted effort. You are
creating ripples and building a store of experience that will
eventually bear fruit.
Do a big thing, or do any little thing many times toward your
goal. Know that fulfillment will happen through persistence. If
you give up and stop persisting then simply start again.
There may be something you want to have or something you want to
be. That is your goal. You've no doubt thought about it and how
to obtain it. Let's go further and write the goal down on paper
to give you more focus. Put it at the top of the page in pen.
Grab a red marker and draw an arrow pointing up toward your
goal. Now go back to your pen and write along the line of the
arrow. Write things you can do to work toward achieving the goal
and how you can make arrangements to put in the work.
Review this paper often. This is your action plan. It has one
direction and one intention - your goal. You are the archer with
your bow drawn and arrow pointing toward your target. Now let go
the string.
Your new self is the you that has attained the goal. The old
self may try to stand in the way of reaching it. You sacrifice
your old self by keeping discipline, for discipline is what
sacrifices require. Goal achievement often is a process of
personal growth.
Sometimes discipline means not trying to get the whole thing at
once. Anxiousness and impatience are not qualities of
discipline, and neither is selfishness. You may have to put in
effort a little at a time over a long period. Don't worry about
it, worry destroys discipline.
Don't get angry about it either, but if you do get angry, then
be happy. Why? Because having anger means you have lots of
energy. Channel that energy toward your goal rather than just
blowing off steam and maybe you just might get the whole thing
at once.
Discipline makes the difference. It means you have an ideal that
you are willing to sacrifice for.
Got Discipline? Just keep regularity in your efforts and you
will find that discipline builds from there.