I clearly remember my first trapper keeper. Navy Blue with Winnie the Pooh on the front cover. I guess the thing that year (6th grade) was to think random cartoons were cool (because I had Winnie the Pooh sheets too). I realize how uncool I was (am), embrace it, and will definitely forgive you if you never come back here.
My nicely placed loose leaf paper, pencil pouch, calculator, compass, and whatever else a 6th grade nerd needed, were perfectly organized inside the binder that shouted “TYPE A!”
High school. My locker was clean. My report was clean. I woke up and worked out. Went to practice. Ate supper then went back to the gym around 9 most nights. Discipline.
I did my chores, did my homework, read my bible every night for years. Discipline!
Fast forward to being a grown up. Wait…What’s that word?
Recognizing my lack of any skills remotely close to resembling discipline, for kicks and giggles, I googled “how to be disciplined?” Here’s what I found from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/287005.
- Know your weakness
- Remove Temptations
- Set clear goals and have an execution plan
- Build your self-discipline
- Create new habits by keeping it simple
- Eat often and healthy
- Change your perception about willpower
- Give yourself a backup plan
- Reward yourself
- Forgive yourself and move forward
Brooke’s steps on How not to be disciplined…
- Stay up really late so you are incapable of waking up early
- Become a professional flaker
- Listen to how you “feel”
- Overwhelm yourself with life
- Own being a frazzled mess who drives a struggle-bus
- Tell yourself you’ll do it tomorrow
- Make excuses when friends show up to your house unannounced and your house resembles utter chaos that exploded
- Be okay with only coming up with 8 reasons to counteract the 10 listed above. Who needs Type A anything around here?
For more kicks and giggles, how about I try coming up with something to consider for the author’s ten steps.
- Weaknesses – I, sadly, aimlessly scroll through Facebook looking at stupid junk for far too long some days. I really like this show call “Blindspot.” It makes me think I work for the FBI and I walk through my office building peaking around corners pretending someone’s on the other side ready to attack. I don’t like planning because what if I wake up and don’t “feel” like doing what I’d planned to do.
- Remove temptations – Get rid of my smart phone so I can’t access Facebook. Buy a landline and kindly ask people to call me instead of texting so we can avoid Facebook and bring back verbal communication. Put a huge sheet over my TV with a note that says, “Brooke, NO!” Planning – um…no, no thank you! I will refuse to be a planner forever and always. (Obviously this excludes my dream-planning. That will still take place)
- Set clear goals and have an execution plan – This is literally my job. I help people set clear goals and action steps to attain those goals. I even created a template in an online management system. Why can’t I seem to figure it out. Okay goals. Goal 1) Do one load of laundry a day. Wait wait…let’s not be overzealous. Do 2 loads of laundry a week. Action step – Clean laundry room (done as of an hour ago-see what I did there). Convince husband and children to place clothes in laundry hamper instead of next to hamper. Put up clothes currently residing in laundry baskets so I can utilize the baskets for new clean clothes. Goal 2) Try not to lose mind each morning. Action step – do laundry so your children have clothes to wear (see goal 1). Goal 3) Clean out van. Action Step 1 – clean van. Action step 2 – don’t let children back in van…ever. Goal 4) Trim hedges. Action Step – wait until children are old enough to watch themselves so I can go outside for an hour without wondering who climbed up the stairs and fell, who tried to eat a quarter, or who decided playing in the toilet was a good idea. Well…we see where this is going.
- Build self-discipline – Wait I thought this was what I was doing.
- Create new habits by keeping it simple – Three children five and under and you are throwing out the term simple? (But on this note, I like that song called Simplicity)
- Eat often and healthy! First half of this…yes! Second half…I ate chicken, asparagus, and red potatoes today. Semi-healthy, ay? (Probably not after what I did to the asparagus.)
- Change your perception about will-power. Okay…one of my spiritual gifts (according to a 2018 survey) is faith. I believe God is able to do immeasurably more than all I ask or imagine…maybe I just need to start believing some God-sized miracles that will rejuvenate my ability to be disciplined.
- Give yourself a backup plan. Wait…didn’t we just discuss me no…not ever planning? How do I have a backup plan if I don’t even have an initial plan?
- Reward yourself. Hmm…I would like one pedicure please while sitting in the massagey chair. And can someone make me dinner and clean my whole house too!?
- Forgive yourself and move forward. Forgiveness…I can handle that!
I think I can handle a few of these. If a Type Smigilishinoo was once a Type A person you would think she could at least find a way to be organized and disciplined in some areas of her life again. I’m on my way!
Alarm clock set for 4:52 AM.
Wait…12:40, 1:40, 2:40, 3:40, 4:40.
Um…maybe tomorrow!