Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Desire for discipline

I'm more about living than writing right now. But I haven't given up on writing, so I keep coming back here, as an act of discipline.

And that reminds me of one of the themes I thought of exploring recently: "Desire and Discipline," which was the title of a sermon Feb. 19 by the Rev. Jim Shepherd at Goodrich United Methodist Church.

When I wrote the word "discipline" above in regard to my writing routine, the word "desire" came to mind, courtesy of that sermon title. And it made me think of how, as Jim preached from a more theological perspective, the place my thinking went to was writing.

I often have desire. I much less often have discipline.

Among my New Year's goals was to write more. I planned to schedule at least 30 minutes for writing most days. It took a while, but eventually I started doing it.

It takes time for new actions to become a habit or routine.

The thing I've noticed recently is that not only is it hard for me to get started at something new; it's hard for me to keep at it. Even when I like the process and the results of new actions, it's not unusual for me to notice a week or two later that I've lapsed. I can think of at least three such instances in which this has happened regarding major goals, including writing, since the start of the year.

What I'm trying to do now as I work on becoming more disciplined and structured is, when I realize I've let something lapse that is important to me, to get it back on my list!

The list itself is one of the new disciplines or practices I'm trying to do. The WOOP* (Wish-Outcome-Obstacle-Plan) approach I'm using encourages me to write what I hope to be the outcome; list what I see as possible obstacles; and articulate my plan for fulfilling the wish.

I've added to my spreadsheet a line for the results. Several days, I had gotten to where I was just writing the wishes/goals and the results. But after I realized I was missing the middle steps, I've returned to the full practice.

At my best, I also include another extra step: scheduling some of the most important goals onto my day's calendar. Working on all these steps helps me to prioritize and reprioritize throughout the day, and that helps me to be more effective. And that brings me a sense of peace that I've desired for a long time.

Now, as a person of lifelong Christian faith and a member of a 12-step recovery program for most of my adult life, it might seem I should be far beyond needing such rigorous structure outside of either of those affiliations.  And I certainly don't want it to sound like this WOOP and scheduling structure is the answer. It's really  just a tool that I am able to use as a result of continuing efforts to grow as a person of faith, seeking to know and do God's will, to His glory.

* I found the WOOP method, created by psychology professors Gabriele Oettingen and Dr. Peter Gollwitzer of New York University, in an article by Melody Wilding via Quartz Ideas.

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