21 Days to a More Disciplined Life: Day 2 (Discipline is a Process)

Welcome to everyone who's reading via the Facebook link! I made the choice to start posting my blog entries on there because I want to really ramp up my writing and become a more consistent blogger in 2014, so I thought I'd get a head start by shamelessly self-promoting myself now.

Yesterday's exercise was to choose one small project that's been nagging at me for weeks or months and complete it in 24 hours. As a chronic list maker and procrastinator extraordinaire, I had a lot more tasks like this than I care to admit! I finally chose to work on my purse bag:

I only started carrying a purse again recently, so I wasn't sure what all was in this bag. I had friends tease me a couple of years (yes, years) ago about all of the junk in it, but that still didn't prompt me to clean it out. It became one of those perpetual to-do list items that got shifted from list to list. I've got many, many other tasks like that, but this one seemed relatively quick and painless and I knew I needed a small victory to start off with. Here's a blurry picture of what was in it:

Some of these thing disturb me! Like, what is that single blue tinted pill at the bottom right? It's hard to see also, but there's black stuff on that green tube of lip gloss in the center. Ick! Those things, along with the Splenda tablets, eye drops (who knows how old those are?), the lip gloss without a lid, the two random lids, all of the mints/medicines, and the flattened Crystal Light packet got thrown away. I've also reduced the number of silver barrettes down to one. I don't know why I had three in there!

I also realized that I was missing a few basics in there, like paper to write on since I had a pen and pencil in there! I added paper, newer mints, my beloved apple pie gum (Jen!), lotion, and headache medicine.

What was your day one task? Are you just jumping in today? Welcome, if you are! =)

Now, on to day 2.

Today's focus is on the process of discipline. Paine says that we have to realize that you can't just go from zero to 100% discipline overnight; you have to resolve to change something and then follow through with it. She also says that it's easier to set small, simple, achievable goals and stick with those over the long haul rather than trying to change everything overnight and being burnt out after a couple of days. Now I know she's talking to me!

Today's exercise is to choose one simple thing that you can resolve to change today and then follow through with it for the next 24 hours. Only choose one thing, even if there are a hundred things you're ready to change!