Self-discipline is contagious.
Self-discipline can start in one area of your life and completely transform the rest of your life. How often do you see someone starts exercising regularly and then they’re more focused at work, less stressed in meetings, and soon they seem like a completely different person? It’s because self-discipline in one area can quickly create self-discipline in other areas.
How financial self-discipline improved our marriage communication
Kara and I went through Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University in early 2012. We had close to $20,000 in debt between grad school student loans (guilty as charged), a car loan, wedding debt, and credit card. This past September we paid the very last of the student loan debt and we’re now totally debt-free except our mortgage. (Read more about our debt-free journey here!)
Getting disciplined in our finances actually increased self-discipline in other areas of our life because self-discipline is contagious.
Self-discipline in our finances helped improve communication in our marriage. If you’ve never put together a legitimate budget with your spouse, be prepared for a Master’s Class in conflict resolution and communication. The leading cause of divorce in North America today is money fights and/or money problems. (Dave Ramsey) Kara and I improved in our understanding of how we communicate our overall expectations for marriage, a self-discipline started by getting on a written budget and clearly communicating our financial expectations.
Self-discipline in one area of life can transform your entire life
The elusiveness of self-discipline is that adopted discipline, choosing to be disciplined, is far more effective and lasts longer than forced discipline, like military or microclimatic control. You need to choose to be disciplined, which means you need to get to a point where the numbers on the scale, the tightness in your chest, the anxiety in your brain, or the misappropriation of your bank accounts needs to grate your nerves to the point of change.
If you choose to pursue self-discipline, prepare for other areas of your life to be transformed. It’s not some magic pill or fairy wand; it takes hard work! Self-discipline allows us to make the most of our God-given opportunities to create the best life possible to share hope, life, and peace with those around us.