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Focus on the Bliss
Taking care of oneself requires discipline. Not discipline in terms of
punishment, but rather discipline of learning, order and control. Discipline and
care of self seems to be a topic on the minds of health writers today.
In Secrets of Feeding a Healthy Family, Ellyn Satter writes about the
importance of discipline in helping yourself and your children to eat well and
healthfully. She writes that the discipline of having regular meals, and paying
attention while eating leads to healthy eating habits.
Brian Johnson, in his newsletter “PhilosophersNotes,” writes about how
discipline helps us lead a happier life. He quotes Michael Bernard Beckwith in
his book Spiritual Liberation:
“Discipline leads to blissipline…a healthy view of discipline keeps us on track
in areas of our life where we’ve determined to make a change. Discipline is a
practice of self-love, self-respect, and surrender that results in freedom.”
As adults we practice blissipline in many ways throughout the day. We brush our
teeth because we enjoy having clean, white teeth. We go to work because we gain
satisfaction and a paycheck. We do laundry so we have fresh, comfortable clothes
to wear.
Focusing on the good, the bliss, to be gained by changing a health habit may
help us be more successful. Here are some examples of how discipline can lead to
blissipline:
|
Discipline |
Blissipline |
| Get up early to exercise
|
Feel strong enough to do things you like
to do
|
| Pack lunch the night before |
Eat a good tasting, low cost meal
instead of
something unsatisfying from a vending
machine
|
| Go to bed at a reasonable
time |
Feel alert and refreshed the next day
|
| Quit smoking |
No more nagging from loved ones about
the health risks of smoking; fresher breath
|
| Put the newspaper down and
really listening when your loved one wants to talk |
Develop a deeper relationship, better
communication and understanding
|
| Take a short walk at lunch |
Feel more alert and more productive in
the
afternoon
|
| Think carefully before
saying yes |
Live a better balanced life with less
stress
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What change requiring discipline has been on your mind lately? Think about all
the benefits you will gain from taking that step. Write them down and put the
list where it will remind you of the bliss this change will bring. To paraphrase
the philosopher Seneca, on the way to developing a new, better habit, focus on
the bliss until the things that are pleasant and the things that are good for
you become the same.
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