DISCIPLINE IS NOT MY FAVOURITE WORD…
But (reluctantly, I accept) discipline IS necessary to reach your goals.
Lately, I’ve been reflecting on the energy behind the word discipline, and the energy needed to show up consistently with discipline.
For a long time, I resisted it. It felt overly demanding, restrictive, cold and calculating. But recently, through training the muscle by showing up consistently for my goals, and my own inner work in The Spiral, I’ve come to see discipline differently.
I realise now:
Discipline is one of the highest forms of self love.
And, when we master it,
it actually becomes Loving Devotion.
Right now I’m crewing on the Spiral Practitioner training and personally integrating The Spiral Level 3 — Power.
It’s all about personal will, discipline, and setting boundaries that actually mean something.
It’s not the kind of “power” that shouts and screams, or power over others.
It’s the kind of power that rises up from within and gives you strength.
That voice whispering “come on. get up. you can do this.” even when you don’t feel like it.
And we need this strong inner voice to encourage us.
So we can do the things we know we must do, so that we can have what we want.
For me, I’m seeing this most clearly in my swim training.
A year ago I started swimming again as part of my recovery from illness.
A year ago I started swimming again as part of my recovery from illness.
At first, it was about just being in the water — the ocean is so beautiful and healing for me.
Then it became about rebuilding my strength. And, a few months ago, I began swimming laps in the pool.
At first, I could only do 500m, then 1200m, and I kept stretching my distance goal until I could swim 2km.
And now… I’m training for two big swim events!
Swim for Life (in 3 weeks!) — a nine-hour relay raising funds for Men’s Talk Australia, an amazing organisation supporting men’s mental health.
Our team’s called Backstroke to the Future. (I love the iconic movie reference, and the time-bending concept, all wrapped up in a cute pun.)
You can donate here or come down on 16th November and cheer us on.
Then in February next year, I’ll be doing the Rottnest Channel Swim - a 19.7km open-water swim from Perth to Rotto with three other brave, ambitious women… plus hoards of other swimmers, paddlers, and boats.
I anticipate chaos — and also camaraderie.
Our team is called Swimmers in the Lymelight, and we’re swimming to raise funds for Lyme disease research.
In training for these swims, I’m already finding my mental edges — where my discipline needs strengthening even more than my muscles.
There’s the fearful voice that questions, “Have you pushed too far today?”
and the encouraging one that reminds me, “You are stronger now. You can finish this.”
Discipline is not my favourite word.
I mentioned that already, right? Haha!
But when you know that showing up, over and over, is what gets you to the goal - and that goal means more to you than the familiar comfort of staying where you are - discipline becomes an act of love.
And love is one of my favourite words.
So, it isn’t about pushing until I break anymore; it’s about stretching right at my edge without slipping into burnout.
And the training in the pool, of course, is being reflected in other areas of my life - in business, in relationships, in my mental and physical resilience.
The inner work always pays off in your outer reality.
With all the inner work, and outer effort, I’m arriving at a new level of power and discipline.
When you match your actions to your words - i.e. what you say you want - you start moving faster towards your goals.
And what a gift that is to yourself, and to others.
Where are you needing to build that muscle of discipline (or devotion) to keep showing up — even when it’s uncomfortable, or inconvenient?
And what’s stopping you?
If you’re devoted to your goals, and you want to move those blocks out of the way, an emotional clearing session with me will map the emotional landscape, clear any unconscious limitations, and leave you naturally more aligned to your goals.
So you can reach them faster.
Book an emotional clearing session here.