Oscar Funes

Published on

2019 the year of Discipline

Discipline is the refining fire by which talent becomes ability.

Roy L. Smith

Year after year, I try to pick up some habits, or some hobby or something new in my life. There are really few things that have stuck with me for my current lifetime.

One is my profession, software engineering and the theoretical side of the classes I studied in college. Computer Science, which was really lacking in my engineering degree but I still try to learn every year. Failing to grasp some concept and leave it there for a few months (or years).

Another one is photography, I’m a really crappy photographer, but it makes me happy to take pictures with my cameras, but more than that. I feel the challenge that is actually to take good pictures consistently.

Anybody can take a good picture every now and then, but getting to a point where you’re concisely getting good pictures on almost every shot. Or where every part of your photo is actually carefully thought about, that’s where I would like to be.

A third one would be reading, I’m a somewhat “avid” reader. But I think that due to my personality, I tend to read more than one book at a time. Which makes it hard to finish books quickly, because I end up learning so many books that when I finish one, I don’t really have a sense of accomplishment but of guilt of not finishing faster.

We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment.

Jim Rohn

While I don’t think that going one lap around the sun marks any special event, I decided that I’m going to make this year the year of discipline for me. I’m going to pick up habits and push through to have a sense of accomplishment.

I’ve realized that I’m not very disciplined, starting stuff somewhat regularly but not keeping with it, and some things not even seeing them through.

Exactly, what I want is to be more disciplined for things that favor my health, not only physically but spiritually. I’ll be trying to keep a meditation routine, a journaling routine and a writing routine (for my blog).

What I hope is achieve a sense of accomplishment that will make me want to continue applying discipline to other parts of my life. Not only on my personal side.

With faith, discipline and selfless devotion to duty, there is nothing worthwhile that you cannot achieve.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah

While having discipline is hard, especially when you don’t feel you have a reason to do it. Especially things like waking up really early in the morning, which I did but then stopped doing because of feeling tired and wanting to sleep five more minutes all the time.

I think everybody can be what they want or achieve what they set up too. We just have to be strong enough to push through all the hard times of doing the thing just for the sake of habit and/or discipline.

I hope journaling will keep me accountable for doing my tasks all days, or at least keeping track of when I didn’t do it, and why I didn’t do it.

I’ll also try to read only one book at a time, perhaps finish them in order and feel achievement and less guilt about finishing books “late” whatever that means in my mind.

Here’s to a great 2019! And hoping everybody has a great year!