Discipline

After yesterday’s journaling report, a reader commented that I am disciplined in some areas. After thinking about it while out walking Oscar this morning, I can almost believe that there is some amount of self discipline but (always that but), the journaling is something I love doing. I never have to make myself stop what I’m doing and write in the journal. I usually have to make myself stop writing. That was a problem when I was journaling in a notebook with endless pages. Fill one up . . just grab Volume 2. The Happy Planner, using the weekly calendar, limits my writing space and causes me to make journal entries instead of a book each day.

I’m almost too disciplined with my meal planning and cooking. Once it’s written down on a meal plan, it about takes a miracle for me to deviate from my plans. I was thinking this morning . . why am I so disciplined with that and not with other areas of my life? I think it’s because if I don’t have a meal plan; if I don’t look at it on Thursday night to see what we’re having on Friday, take the food out of the freezer and get everything out of the pantry, then I’ll sit downstairs and cross stitch til Vince says “Are we having dinner today?” and then . . I’ve totally forgotten about dinner; no idea what I’m cooking and we go out to eat or eat junk. Is it possible that my lack of discipline causes me to be disciplined?

Another area, as you know, is ordering cross stitch charts/linen. I know that there is more here than I’ll ever stitch. Why do I buy more? I could see it if there’s a Stitch Along and I really want to participate, though I rarely finish those pieces; or if something came along that really spoke to me. No. I order everything.

The main area where lack of discipline sends me over the edge is losing things. I will pick up a package of pens upstairs to bring downstairs. I stop by the bedroom to do something. I put the pens down on the bed, then I go fold clothes and leave Vince’s stack on the bed to be put away. I go downstairs. Vince comes in and puts his clothes away. He sees the package of pens and doesn’t know why they’re on the bed and he sticks them in a drawer. Then I remember the pens but have no idea where they are. That kind of stuff happens a dozen or more times a day. I used to keep a tote bag upstairs and a tote bag downstairs. Put stuff in that bag and bring it up or down each trip; put the stuff away, put the bag back by the door.

Another area where I need improvement but I am seeing improvement is getting to bed on time.

Keeping up with stuff and not ordering cross stitching charts or linen – that’s going to be my area of focus for the month of February.

At least with “discipline” being my word of the year, I’m seeing areas where there is some amount of discipline, areas that need improvement and areas where I’m almost starting from nothing and learning discipline.