21 Day Self-Discipline Challenge Archives - Serving Joyfully

12Nov 2012

Discipline Day 12: Focus

Thanks for joining us for the 21 Day Self-Discipline Challenge! See what it’s all about here. If you’re just joining in, you can get the book here.

Today’s Assignment: Focus

Today, Crystal talks about something important-focusing on your goals. I think focus is such a huge part of most anything we do in life. In marriage, we should focus on our spouse and that relationship, it’s when we move our eyes off each other that we open ourselves up to be tempted. In our Christian walk, we need to focus on Jesus. Paul reminds us to “set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.” That’s focus.

And we need it to succeed at our goals. Crystal brings up a very good point, in that not all things distracting us from our end goal are bad. Some are. Like wasting time on the internet when we should be productive instead (Seriously, did you know that if you’re on Firefox, you can set up a block on your computer for added accountability?!). But, sometimes our focus is threatened by good things, like other projects. But if we’re constantly distracted from one project to the next then we won’t make much progress. Crystal says:

When you learn to focus you will find yourself quickly finishing up tasks and then moving onto the next…start using your timer to train yourself to focus 100%. Start very small. Set your timer for five minutes and then throw yourself wholeheartedly into that task until you hear the timer beep.

The challenge for today is to consider anything that might be distracting you and rid yourself of that distraction. I’ve mentioned before that the internet can be a huge time-kill for me, but over the past few days I’ve been doing much better about that, and have noticed a lot more productivity without that particular distraction.

How are you doing with the challenge? Do you find that you’re easily distracted? How do you stay committed and focused on the goal or task at hand?

This post contains an affiliate link (which is now actually working..lol). So if you purchase the book through this link, you’ll be helping to support my site. Thanks!

12Nov 2012

Discipline Day 10-11: Catch Up

Crystal ⋅ 13 Comments

Okay, here’s the thing. First of all, I have to admit that I’m not used to writing on my blog 7 days a week. I generally write M-F and take off the weekends. So, I’m sure that burnout (from writing everyday) is hitting me right now. Also, I’ve found that the better I’m doing with being productive with other things, the less desire I have to do computer things. Which, I consider a personal success since the internet is one of my big stumbling blocks.

I want to apologize to everyone who was relying on me to post the challenges each day.

I have been continuing on in the challenge (and trying to get ready for my graduate comps, and homeschool, and about 12 other things)…so, at least I have that.

Here are the catch up days:

Day 10: Find a Cheerleader.
I touched on this on a previous day, but I really don’t have people in my life to hold me accountable. And since I moved recently, that is even harder to find. So, I’m not really sure what I can do for this one. But, I do agree with Crystal that it’s important. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 talks about this–there is strength in numbers! Crystal says:

You can’t do this discipline thing alone. Well, you can, but I guarantee you it will be a lot harder to keep at it if you don’t have anyone encouraging you along the way. When you have someone willing to check in with you, you gain a major advantage.

My husband is one of the “softies” that she talks about. He is very supportive, but doesn’t work so great as a cheerleader/accountability partner.

However, I do have to say that with this blog I am in a unique position of having a lot of support and accountability from you guys, and I greatly appreciate that! There were days when I stuck with the challenge only because I knew I was going to have to come back here and report. And, there were days when I stuck with it only because of the encouragement you guys gave me (like with the working out thing). Thank you for being my cheerleader in this! It is much appreciated.

Day 11: Finding an Accountability Partner

Crystal acknowledges that there are probably a lot of people, like me, who want an accountability partner but don’t have one and can’t really find one. She advises that you start with local family, friends, church members, etc. But if you can’t find someone in real life, head to your online communities.

She does offer a word of caution:

One caution about joining an online support group: make sure that the group is not too big. Otherwise, it will be too easy for you to slip in and slip out unnoticed. If the group is large, see if there’s one person within the group who is also searching for an
accountability partner. There is just something special about one-to-one accountability.

I have been searching for this very thing for a long time. For friendship, fellowship, accountability. And I have been unsuccessful. But, while I was at Allume, I was blessed to attend tea with Sally Clarkson. During this great talk, she spoke of forming a community around herself. She said that when she started out, she didn’t know anyone, and she just slowly started inviting people over, etc. I went to her in tears, saddened by my own lack of community and feeling like I’m hitting a wall at every turn.

She looked at me, and gave a sad shake of her head and said, “Keep trying, honey. It took me 3 years.”

But during her talk that morning, I was motivated and inspired to keep reaching out, in spite of rejections. I still haven’t found a community of friends here, but I’m feeling better about the situation, more hopeful.

Do you have a support system and encourager/accountability partner in your life? What are your tips for someone who is searching for that.

09Nov 2012

Discipline Day 9: Making Goals Achievable

Crystal ⋅ 6 Comments

Thanks for joining us for the 21 Day Self-Discipline Challenge! See what it’s all about here. If you’re just joining in, you can get the book here.

Sorry this is late. I had other thoughts on my heart earlier today. But, here is my Day 9 post.

I had somewhat of a compromise today. My workout was shortened, because we had a busy day. Although the day did include packing boxes of food and/or paper goods for the senior ministry at church, so that’s kind of exercise. Anyway, I was inspired to work on my grad school stuff, which I desperately need to get to, so that kind of took precedence over some other things. However, even with that I still completed my mega-project assignment, so the day was mostly a victory.

Today’s Assignment: Break Goals into Bite-Sized Pieces.

I kind of already did this on the earlier day of goal setting, so I’m ahead of the game today. Basically, today’s lesson emphasizes the importance of breaking goals into smaller pieces so that you can track progress and celebrate small victories. Crystal says:

If you never let yourself experience small wins, you’ll be much less likely to experience the big wins.

One of the biggest takeaways of this lesson, though, was this:

Don’t forget to change things up if your progress stagnates. If you are not seeing results for a few weeks in a row, it’s time to change your game plan a bit…discouragement is one of the biggest goal-killers out there.

Don’t be afraid to reevaluate if progress stagnates. If you stop moving forward, then you’re more likely to just give up entirely (at least that’s what I have found for myself), so reevaluating becomes a great tool for keeping motivated.

Assignment 1: Small Habit (dressed and bed made as soon as I get up)
If nothing else happens out of this challenge, at the very least, I feel like I have got back on track with this habit.

Assignment 2: Continue with Life Hack
Very short workout, but I still did it.

Assignment 3: Mega-Project
Today, I continued on in the spare bedroom. It has become a kind of junk room for the things that haven’t found a new home here since the move, so it will be a long process, but I made a lot of progress, and will continue it today. I’m hoping for some time this weekend to work on this to try and make up for the days when I’ll be gone to finish up my graduate degree.

How are you doing? How did day 9 go for you? What are your big goals that you’re working toward, and how can you break those into smaller goals?

This post contains an affiliate link (which is now actually working..lol). So if you purchase the book through this link, you’ll be helping to support my site. Thanks!

07Nov 2012

Day 8: Where are you going?

Crystal ⋅ 19 Comments

Thanks for joining us for the 21 Day Self-Discipline Challenge! See what it’s all about here. If you’re just joining in, you can get the book here.

First of all, I have to report for those of you following my drama of semi-failure…I’m happy to report that for Day 7, I completed ALL of my assignments. Honestly, I had mentally given up on the working out thing. I was done. And then I read the encouragement from some of you and found an encouraging note on Twitter this morning about working out, and it was just the accountability (and conviction!) that I needed. I just realized that I had to get myself together!

I stayed home from church tonight (for many reasons), and in the 2 hours that my family was gone to church I cleaned up the kitchen from supper, worked out for 25 minutes, deep cleaned and organized both the bathroom and the linen closet, and talked to my mom on the phone for a while. It was a great feeling to get all that done, and my hubby was very pleased as well. So, thank you all so much for all of your encouragement!

Today’s Assignment: Keep your goals in sight

I am all over it when it comes to putting things on paper! I am a list maker, note taker kinda person. The only problem here is that I’m not so good at keeping it visible, so I will do that today—make a goal (and a plan), and put it in a visible location.

When you write your goals down, be sure and don’t then tuck them away inside of some rarely-opened notebook. Post them in a conspicuous location and review them often. You’ll be amazed at how much of a difference this small step will make in propelling you toward success in achieving those goals!

I know this is yet another thing I need to work on (are you seeing a pattern?!?). I’m really good about having goals but not having the discipline and follow through to make them happen. So I just forget about it. I still have them, but don’t do anything about it. I’m committing to write out some goals in a visible place and look at them, read them, think about them every single day.

Assignment 1: Small Habit (dressed and bed made as soon as I get up)
If nothing else happens out of this challenge, at the very least, I feel like I have got back on track with this habit.

Assignment 2: Continue with Life Hack
I did it! I worked out. Thanks so much to all of you for your inspiration. I have $1 in my workout jar, and after the 8th, I will have $2. (how’s that for positive thinking???)

Assignment 3: Mega-Project
Yesterday, I made it through the bathroom and linen closet. Today, I will be tackling the spare bedroom. This is literally such a huge project that I allotted several days to it, but today I will start…I’m really excited about my progress so far.

How are you doing? How did day 8 go for you? What are your big goals that you’re working toward?

This post contains an affiliate link (which is now actually working..lol). So if you purchase the book through this link, you’ll be helping to support my site. Thanks!

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Now, it’s time for Thriving Thursdays…if you are participating in the 21 Day Self-Discipline Challenge, feel free to link up your favorite post here as well!

 <a href="http://www.servingjoyfully.com/category/thriving-thursday/"><img src="http://www.servingjoyfully.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Thriving-Thursdays1.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>

Thriving Thursdays is a link up for family-friendly bloggers, who are choosing to THRIVE in their lives. It’s a place for us to encourage and inspire one another to live life to the fullest–in Jesus Christ. Link up your posts about thriving–in marriage, faith, parenting, homemaking, relationships, in the kitchen, in frugality.

Everything we do can be a ministry and worship to our Lord. Link up as many posts as you want, and I hope that you’ll take the time to visit some other participants as well.

06Nov 2012

Day 7: Avoiding Negativity

Crystal ⋅ 19 Comments

Thanks for joining us for the 21 Day Self-Discipline Challenge! See what it’s all about here. If you’re just joining in, you can get the book here.

Today’s Assignment: Avoiding negative thought patterns

“I’ll try”

Today’s chapter is all about negative thought patterns, and I know this is something I need to work on. But, it’s tough. One of the things Crystal talks about is the phrase, “I’ll try,”

“Try” may not seem like a negative thought word, but it really is! When you use the word “try,” you are telling yourself that you don’t really believe in your ability to get the job done. In your mind, you’ve already failed, and you’re accounting for your failure with your word choice.

I haven’t really thought about this much in terms of being a negative thought pattern, but honestly, it is negative. I say “I’ll try,” because I don’t want to lie. I don’t want to be one of those people who says repeatedly “I’m going to change.” And then doesn’t. So instead, I say “I’ll try.” But really everything about that is negative. It’s admitting defeat before I even start.

Crystal also talks about surrounding yourself with positive and supportive people. This is a struggle for me as well. I have to admit that most of the people around me (mostly family) are on the negative side, and are quick to say why my plan or goal isn’t going to happen. I am, however, so blessed to be married to a wonderful, positive and supportive husband who is such a cheerleader for me. He believes in me, no matter how many times I have failed in the past and I am so blessed to have that in him.

Today’s Assignment: Don’t “try,” DO IT!

Crystal also shared this short motivational video of Art Williams—whatever it is you are wanting to attain, just.do.it.

Assignment 1: Small Habit (dressed and bed made as soon as I get up)
If nothing else happens out of this challenge, at the very least, I feel like I have got back on track with this habit.

Assignment 2: Continue with Life Hack
I’m kind of lost on this for the moment. Wondering if I should start something new at this point in the challenge, or keep trying for the working out thing, even though I haven’t really started it.

Assignment 3: Mega-Project
Yesterday, I made it through the hallway closets, and today will be moving along to the bathroom and linen closet. The progress so far has been nice and I’m looking forward to tackling the other areas in the house as well.

How are you doing? How did day 7 go for you? Do you have any habitual negative thoughts?

This post contains an affiliate link (which is now actually working..lol). So if you purchase the PDF book through this link, you’ll be helping to support my site. Thanks!

06Nov 2012

Discipline Day 6: Be Realistic

Crystal ⋅ 18 Comments

Thanks for joining us for the 21 Day Self-Discipline Challenge! See what it’s all about here. If you’re just joining in, you can get the book here.

So, I have a little confession to make. I haven’t been doing so well with the whole working out life hack thing. And yesterday, even though the topic was all about not allowing discouragement to impede progress, I did just that. I let the day slip away from me until it was 11:00, and not only had I not worked out, I also hadn’t completed my mega-project daily assignment.

I hopped online to approve comments one last time before going to bed, and I saw this comment. And I was immediately convicted! Bethany is sticking to it and allowing her life to be changed by adding in more self-discipline, while I was failing. So, I found myself cleaning out the laundry/utility/pantry room at 11:00 pm last night. It took much less time than I originally thought, and it felt so good to get back on track.

As I cleaned, I pondered. You ladies who are sticking to this challenge will see positive results in your life and attitude, I really believe that. And the only person losing out by my lack of follow through is me. But as this thought crossed my mind, it was quickly followed by another one: It’s not just me who suffers from my lack of discipline, it’s my family as well. (<–Tweet This)

That’s why I want to stick to it, and change this about myself. Because my family deserves the best.

Today’s Assignment: Realistic Goals

It’s important to set realistic goals. Crystal says this:

Do yourself a favor when setting goals: be realistic and thoughtful about them. Even if they don’t seem quite so amazing, it’s better to set the bar lower and actually meet your goals than to set the bar too high and keep falling flat on your face.

I think it’s important to have both big and small goals. The small goals should be leading us toward larger life goals. But they have to be broken down in a way that they are achievable. For example, my life-goal might be to be more organized. A smaller goal is to de-clutter my house, and that’s what I’m focusing on right now. This is broken down into bite-sized goals (my daily pieces) that keep me on track.

Assignment 1: Continue with Small Habit
Success…dressed and bed made right away

Assignment 2: Continue with Life Hack
I’m struggling with this so far, as I mentioned above. Hopefully I’ll have better news to report tomorrow.

Assignment 3: Mega-Project
Today, I’m working on the hallway closet. Lots of stuff just kind of got stuffed in there when we moved because there was no other place to put it. I want to make better use of that space.

How are you doing? How did day 6 go for you. Are your goals achievable?

This post contains an affiliate link (which is now actually working..lol). So if you purchase the book through this link, you’ll be helping to support my site. Thanks!

05Nov 2012

Discipline Day 5: Anticipating Obstacles

Crystal ⋅ 18 Comments

Thanks for joining us for the 21 Day Self-Discipline Challenge! See what it’s all about here. If you’re just joining in, you can get the book here.

First, I want to share a little revelation I had yesterday. It was Sunday. I didn’t grow up in a Christian home, but I had Christian grandparents and they really took seriously the call for a day of rest. Sundays were spent relaxing with family. No chores were done. Leftovers or sandwiches were eaten for meals, and any dishes waited until Monday morning. The thing is, though, they earned that day of rest. It felt good to them because it was their reward after a hard week of work. I think in all of our idleness, some of us have lost that feeling. We’ve lost our self-discipline, and have become a society of indulgence and over-indulgence. Whether it involves time or money, we get what we want when we want it—borrowing against tomorrow instead of patiently waiting. And we’ve lost the joy and satisfaction that comes with something that has been genuinely earned. It’s something I’m hoping to gain back for myself through this process. I want to sit down with a good book or movie at the end of the day and know that I have earned it through being responsible, productive, selfless and serving my family and others throughout the day.

Now onto today:

Anticipating Obstacles

Today’s chapter, like so many others, really hits home for me. I know that I’m one of the worst when it comes to giving into the failure. One bad day for me quickly becomes a bad week, or even a bad month or 6-months because I fall so hard into the pit of discouragement. Failure isn’t in falling down, it’s in staying down. We cannot listen to the voice inside that says “you’ve already messed up, you might as well give up.”

Most everything of value in this world requires perseverance, tenacity. Life requires us to keep going long after we want to give up.

If you fall down, don’t stay there! Get back up as quickly as possible, brush yourself off, and keep moving toward your goal.

Today’s Assignment: Anticipate Obstacles
Today’s assignment to identify potential obstacles reminded me of something very important. I will be travelling from Nov 14^th -18^th to complete my masters degree (prayers, please!). Since my mega project involves decluttering and organizing my home, that will be kind of hard to do from 300 miles away. So, I’m going to reorganize my game plan for my mega-challenge and try to come up with small and easy things that I can do while at my parents’ so that I won’t lose momentum while I’m gone.

Assignment 1: Continue with Small Habit
Success…dressed and bed made right away

Assignment 2: Continue with Life Hack
I’m determined to work out today. My goal is at least 20 minutes (Yes, I’m starting small). . So, I guess this kind of goes along with today’s lesson about making plans for setbacks. I haven’t really done so well with this goal so far. So, if I don’t get to it before hubby gets home from work, I have enlisted his help for added accountability and will do it as soon as he gets home. So thankful for a husband who is so supportive of all my self-improvement attempts.

Assignment 3: Mega-Project
I’m out of the kitchen now, and starting on the laundry room today. My new plan is to try and add a bit each day to make up for the days I won’t be here. Nothing to get me overwhelmed, but just enough to keep me on track.

How are you doing? How did day 5 go for you, any obstacles that you can see? I would love to hear your strategies and ideas for dealing with setbacks.

This post contains an affiliate link (which is now actually working..lol). So if you purchase the book through this link, you’ll be helping to support my site. Thanks!