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Discipline to Success:
The Components of Well-Roundness
So they committed themselves to the will of God and resolved to proceed.
William Bradford of Plymouth Plantation, 1620.
continuation from BLOG post: part V.b
Our character has five distinct attributes or disciplines: physical, physical temperance, education, social and spiritual. These attributes make up our individual personality. This chapter introduces each attribute and uses a question-and-answer format to explain how best to round your character and develop the required discipline to achieve your goals.
Before we begin, understand that you are not going to change your character overnight. We are creatures of habit — molded into the person we are over many years of our earthly existence. If you were socially shy as a child, you probably display these same tendencies around people today. The ‘who’ and the ‘what we are’ were developed and shaped early in our lives. It will take months, perhaps years, to reshape and change your character.
Shaping a new character is like making a difficult climb up a mountain. Some of us are successful climbers — meaning that we have special talents and tools to make the climb. But most of us, unfortunately, will find the mountain terrain difficult. We perhaps lack the climbing tools such as wealth, fame, sense of humor, etc. But note that with each step up our mountain, with perhaps an occasional slip or two, we will increase our strength and experience. With each step, we mold and shape our character into the person we need to become to achieve success. Molding and shaping your character requires that you climb . . . climb . . . climb.
A Q&A Discussion
Q: What is a goal?
A goal is an aspiration or desire.
Q: How best can we accomplish our goals?
You must first ask, “What are my goals? What single thing am I trying to achieve? Will my goals make me more successful and happy? Do I have the strength and will power to achieve my goals?” Answers to these questions and possibly others will help you plan and achieve your goals using a structured format.
The format uses three ingredients. The first ingredient is planning. Planning defines the single objective that you want to achieve and identifies the goals, benchmarks and tasks that will achieve the objective. The second ingredient is discipline. Discipline is the mental and physical “action” that helps you perform the tasks identified in your goal plan. The third and final ingredient is execution. You will execute the plan using time management techniques and evaluation.
You may encounter a personal weakness that can hinder your progress. You will need to overcome this weakness and strengthen your self-discipline. We best accomplish this by shaping a well-rounded character — meaning we strengthen and develop each part of our character that makeups our individual personality.
Q: What are the components of a well-rounded person?
A well-rounded character is someone who develops and strengthens each component of their character or personality. These include:
- Physical Strength and Endurance
- Physical Temperance and Control
- Educational Development and Aptitude
- Social Development and Acceptance
- Spiritual and Moral Development
Q: Do I need to be a well-rounded person before working on my goals?
Not necessarily. You can achieve the tasks to a goal while simultaneously shaping your character. You will find, however, that your achievement of goals can be more effectively accomplished by overcoming your weaknesses and strengthening each character attribute. The more disciplined you become, the easier it will be to achieve your goals.
Q: How do I shape a well-rounded character?
You begin with one attribute at a time. First, identify a character weakness or a character attribute that you want to strengthen. Second, work to overcome your weakness and strengthen that part of your character. Third, make the attribute change a part of your character. When you feel strong enough that you will not revert back to your old self, you are ready to develop a second character attribute.
We will finish our Q&A discussion next week. In the meantime, complete the character assessment sheet (pdf file) below and have it ready for our discussion in the next couple of weeks.
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