It's Pleasant for a Moment.

When I was 6 years old my mother, in her infinite wisdom, made me take piano lessons.  I didn't want to take piano lessons.  I didn't like taking piano lessons.  But my mother believed that it would make me a better person, or something like that, so each and every week I would go over to this old lady's house,  (She was probably 50 or something.  I was 6, what do you expect.) and play the keys over and over again.  It was dull, it was boring, and I certainly had other places I wanted to be.  But no, it was piano lessons or bust for Steve the 1st grader, and even though it didn't last too long, it had to be one of those times in my life where I felt as if an hour was infinitely longer than it actually was. 

Sorry if I offended all of the great piano players and lovers out there, but not all of us were made to play the same instruments.  Some of us can't play anything and that is okay too, but there is a point to be made.  The reason why I was not successful at the piano, or any other musical instrument I have ever tried to pick up is not because I couldn't have learned.  It is because I simply didn't practice enough to become any good.  According to both my teacher and my mother, I would have had to practice at least 30 minutes a day to become decent.  30 minutes a day to a 6 year old is an eternity.  This was in addition to the other time I had to spend on math, phonics and art homework.  Nope, it wasn't going to happen.  I was content sucking at the piano.  It truth I had no disciple for it.  I was not committed enough, nor desirous enough to want to learn to play, which brings me to the lesson I learned this morning.

It was at the end of my causeway run when a friend said the Title statement above.  It's pleasant for the moment.  What is pleasant for the moment you ask?  She began the statement above with "a lack of discipline."  "A lack of discipline is pleasant for a moment."  Thanks Kim, for that reminder.  "A lack of discipline is pleasant for a moment."  Profound words that fit perfect for someone who is trying to correct a lifetime of discipline-less moments.  What do I mean?  Ok, here's what I mean.

I did not become 275 lbs overnight.  In fact, it is safe to say that I didn't become 275lbs over the course of a few months.  Rather, it took years and years of eating and not exercising to put on the weight.  Not to mention the times in my life when I did decide to exercise a little and even dropped some weight.  When you look at my weight gain in a real way, you have to see that every ounce of weight gain can be attributed to a small moment.  It was the extra 20 minutes of sleep I got rather than waking up to go for a run.  It was the extra beer I had after a shift rather than stopping at 1.  It was the third, fourth and fifth cookies I shoveled down when attended a Southern Baptist church and eating at and after every event was the rule.  In the moment, I loved that sleep, that beer or those cookies, but looking back, what did those things do for me? 

Looking back, those things did nothing for or to me.  It was a lack of discipline that encouraged my weight gain.  At the time, when we are thinking about that extra piece of cake or that last slice of pizza, all we are thinking about is how wonderful those foods taste right now.  We certainly aren't thinking about the moments 12 hours from now when the fat in the cheese is turning into fat in our bodies.  It is as if we lose control of our own abilities to make the right decisions just because our senses take over.  Why?  Because a lack of discipline is pleasant for a moment, and we love our precious, pleasant moments.

So, what do I do?  How can I be more disciplined?  Well, I am not sure.  I know that being motivated to lose weight, has certainly helped me.  The other night I sat in front of friends eating cheeseburgers and fries and wings.  I ate a salad.  The truth is that leading a team in a weight loss competition does a lot to motivate you.  I don't want to be the one that doesn't lead by example.  I don't want to be the one that lets my team down.  So I guess one way to be more disciplined is to have the proper motivation.

I think another thing that has helped me be more disciplined has been the fact that I haven't had a soda since January 1st.  If you know me, you know this is a huge sacrifice because I love Coke Zero and Diet Dr. Pepper.  It is just not the same drinking water all day long, but I have been doing it with gusto.  And it is helping.  I think the lack of soda helps me not reach for salty snacks as much as I used too.  I have no scientific evidence to back that up, but it seems to me that sacrificing something, (especially something that isn't that healthy to begin with) will help with your discipline.  Most of the things we would sacrifice to help with our discipline are probably things that are pleasant for only a moment anyways. 


One last reason I think I am becoming more disciplined is because I am on a team of people that are willing to hold me accountable.  I am the team leader and as the quote goes, "the buck stops here."  For the first time in my life, I want people to hold me accountable.  I want someone to come up and tell me that I shouldn't be eating a cookie if I gained 2 lbs the previous week.  I want someone to get on me if I haven't exercised in a couple days.  I think, just knowing that people are taking me to task about bad habits I am not trying to correct helps me become more disciplined.  I certainly hope they will.  I know I am going to hold others accountable too. 

1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, "So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing."  I think more and more I am coming to realize that discipline takes encouragement from others.  It is not just accountability in the form of a good talking too when I am doing the wrong thing, but also a "Good Job!" or a "Way to Go!"  when I am successful.  I pray that I can be encouraging to those I am leading during this process of sure.  I know there are going to be days when I want that extra cookie or slice of pizza.  When I say NO, it is good to know there are others there to pat me on the back.  I will be there to pat them on the back too.

A lack of discipline is pleasant for a moment.  But moments are fleeting, they come and then are gone and we can't get them back.  Let's live for a complete life, not just for the pleasant moments that really mean nothing to us in the long run.