scott stonehouse

I want to be a disciplined person. On the whole, I often am. I have morning routines and evening routines that I follow. Habits that I have developed. They were not easy to establish.

When I was younger I often began new resolutions or habits with a lot of enthusiasm but would soon give up on them. Usually it was after the first time I failed to do my new habit. A few days in. When I was no longer perfect.

I repeated this cycle for years.

The solution was grace.

When I realized that I couldn’t be and didn’t need to be perfect.

I missed a day. So what? Who cares? Start again the next day and keep going. Working out four days in a week was better than none. Reading my Bible three days in a week was better than none. And continuing to do them was even better.

Progress over Perfection. It was a more difficult idea to accept than I imagined, but incredibly powerful.

Being gracious to myself has kept me in the game when it comes to being disciplined. It has allowed me to become more disciplined because I keep working at it and keep developing that muscle. Even when I occasionally fail.