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Discipline to Success:

The Physical Temperance Attribute

We are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of Nature has placed in our power . . . The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.
Patrick Henry

continuation from BLOG post: part VIII.d

Physical Temperance:

Moderation or self-restraint in action, thought, or feeling. Habitual moderation in the indulgence of the physical appetites or passions; not excessive in degree.

continuation

The physical temperance is the control of physical appetites and passions. We can segment the physical temperance attribute into two areas:

You have been assigned to develop and strengthen your physical temperance character over the past two weeks.  Let’s see how you did:

Evaluate your progress for the last 14 days. You will now make two evaluations. First, evaluate your physical development progress. Second, evaluate your physical temperance progress. The following questions will help you with this evaluation.

1) Physical Development Evaluation:

Did you achieve your physical development goal for the last two weeks (11 or more days)?

Do you feel that you are strengthening your physical abilities?

Do you feel confident that you can continue strengthening your physical development goal for the next fourteen days?

If you answer “no” to any one of the above questions, evaluate why you are not accomplishing the physical development goal. You might not be allocating enough time or you may lack the initiative to achieve your goal. You need to return to our prior posting and develop the physical attribute before moving forward with the other attributes.

If you answered “yes” to all three questions, continue strengthening your physical development goal for a combined total of ten consecutive weeks. You might want to modify the goal to increase strength, endurance and ability.

The reason for developing each attribute for ten consecutive weeks is because this is the approximate amount of time you need to make this attribute development part of your character — in other words, a routine part of your life. You should become more self-disciplined after ten consecutive weeks.

For example, if you jog each morning as scheduled for ten weeks, you will increase discipline over time and decrease total energy to overcome the resistance not to jog. If you recall, internal energy is the force that moves you out of bed 30 minutes earlier in the morning and out into the cold air. You might remember how difficult it was to jog early in the morning on the first day. It was probably even more difficult on the second, third and fourth days. But with each passing day, after each run, the total amount of internal energy decreases. You will find yourself automatically jogging in the morning with less difficulty and inner persuasion. You are increasing self-discipline, which automates your action with less attentive energy.

Everyone obtains self-discipline at different stages. Some people can quickly build self-discipline while others may require a longer time. Be your own judge. If you are able to move forward and develop the other character attributes faster than what I am recommending, please do so. But remember, character development is not a race. Don’t become like the proverbial hare, who ran quickly only to tire and lose the race to the tortoise. Develop a scheduled plan that works similar to my suggestions.

2) Physical Temperance Goal Evaluation:

Did you achieve your physical temperance goal for 11 or more days?

Do you have more control over the habit or indulgence that you are trying to eliminate or moderate?

Do you feel confident that you can continue developing your physical temperance goal for the next fourteen days?

If you answered “no” to any of the three questions, return to Step (1) in this posting and complete the steps indicated. You will want to develop the physical temperance attribute before moving forward with the other character attributes.

If you answered “yes” to all three questions, and if you feel comfortable that you are making progress in your physical temperance development, you are ready to tackle the educational attribute in the next posting.

Before closing, let me leave you with some advice. Exercise temperance when developing your character and individual goals. Don’t become obsessive with your goals. Sometimes you can do more damage than good, particularly if we seek goals that sacrifice the needs of others and our moral standards. Be temperate in your action. Develop your character attribute and goals with moderation and wisdom.

Next week: we will tackle our education attribute.

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Tags: building success, discipline, having success, succes building blocks