Self-Discipline

I know, discipline doesn't sound like an element of healing, but it is. Healing takes intentional thoughts and actions. Healing typically means needing to change the way you were previously doing things, because they ultimately led you to place opposite of health.

The definition of discipline:
1- the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior
2- a branch of knowledge, typically one studied in higher education

​Self-discipline is a big deal for EVERYONE, not just those working on healing. This is not something that we are born with. We must train ourselves over and over again, through each season of life. This is a marathon-type issue. When you have conquered one area of life you undoubtedly need to conquer another one. Don't be discouraged. If you are able to shift your perspective to one of learning and growing in wisdom the challenges you face will be less about surviving and more about thriving.

Life is going to throw some crazy S- - - your way. How you handle it is key.

Muscle atrophy from an injury? Will you whine, sit back and let your body waste away or will you suit up for the battle to regain your body's strength and muscle mass?
Depression due to... whatever? Will you allow the darkness to consume you or will you suit up for the battle to win back your mind? You must not look to synthetics as the only support (although they can be extremely helpful in the short term). Chemical imbalances within the body have root causes - mineral and nutritional deficiencies, excess stress, stress on your genes, etc.

Personal story: I dealt with depression surrounding my first pregnancy. My hormones were out of balance and I didn't know it. It began to alter my personality post delivery. I was prescribed a low dose of Zoloft. It helped. But that would only mask the symptoms of my seratonin imbalance. It wasn't until I cleaned up my eating, began consming foundational nutrients (22 amino acids, grain oils, omega 3s, micro/macro mineral/ vitamins, etc). Once those missing elements were in my diet my body began to heal itself and I ditched the Zoloft (slowly and completely).
When depression struck again, after my youngest son's cancer diagnosis, I knew I could use Zoloft - afterall, I had before - BUT I had learned a lot since my first go-round. This time I was equipped with knowledge and experience! So, I added some things to my daily diet and rearranged some other things. This time the depression was stress related, not hormonal. No Zoloft for me anymore. Instead, I lean into holistic modalities to support my body the right way... the way it recognizes.

5 Benefits of Self-discipline

There are vastly more than 5 benefits of self-discipline. Scripture should be one thing we all put into our daily routine. Despite this list stemming from a secular location, Scripture speaks to each of these.

• Establishes inner strength and character (Galatians 5:22-23)
• Enables you to withstand temptations (1 Corinthians 10:13)
• Heightens your chance of success (Joshua 1:8)
• Improves interpersonal relationships (Ephesians 5)
• Makes it more difficult to be offended (Proverbs 19:11)