I have never been a disciplined person.

As far as I can tell, discipline is simply doing something without feeling the desire to do it.

I was in a meeting at work this week and we were talking about personality types.  Making a long story short, I mentioned that I have always lacked discipline and people laughed at me.  One person said that I was the most disciplined person that they knew.  It was then that I realized that my running had created discipline in me.  It wasn’t a natural trait to me, but had become a learned trait.

When I run in rain, sleet, snow, cold, hot or any other type of weather, or just when I run when I don’t feel like it, I become more disciplined.  I have read somewhere that the brain physically changes when we do new tasks and do them repeatedly.  I think this is true.

I’ve got something to confess.  I have been more irritated lately at my kids.  Don’t get me wrong.  I have great kids and they are all older, but if I ask them to do something and they give me an excuse as to why they cannot do it, I get annoyed.  After working through my thought process I wrote above, I think it is because I have learned to do things without excuse.  This doesn’t mean I do everything I am asked to do or do it without complaint.  I have learned, however, that I can do anything I set my mind to.  Running has brought me to this point.

I guess if I can make my 50 year old body run 26.2 miles then I know pretty much anything is possible.

Discipline is the key.  Doing something without feeling the desire to do it.  My definition, but I think if everyone developed discipline in their lives, this world would be a much better place in which to live.

Putting that in a different way, if everyone were a runner, life would be much easier.  🙂