Discipline or regret?
Susan posed this question the other day:
Which is worse, the pain of discipline or regret?
Both cause pain.
The question is not how to avoid pain, rather, which is worse?
Seeing how I am growing my optimism muscle, I decided to rephrase it.
Which is better, the pain of discipline or regret?
Regret lingers like the smell of moldy cheese.
Have you every opened up the fridge to suddenly smell a something off…something moldy…even though you threw out the science experiment from the back of the fridge a few days ago?
Regret stings the nostrils of life even after you’ve moved past whatever stinks. It lurks in the back of your fridge and makes you gag when you least expect it.
Discipline hurts like fire when you first start.
The 4:30 am wake up, saying no to dessert, pushing yourself to failure at the gym, and leaving parties early just to get the requisite amount of sleep in can be painful. Priorities shift, relationships change, and you encounter random internal obstacles you never knew existed.
What if I am actually successful?
The roaring fire of discipline eventually turns into hot embers that keep your passion going and ultimately fuel your dreams.
In the end, I choose the initial searing pain of discipline over rotten cheese.
I choose discipline.
BTW, fantastic picture of the mouldy cheese! Where on earth did you find that?
Flickr. 😀 I love flickr!! I also choose discipline. Woot!
Searing pain of discipline? Check!
Random internal obstacles? Check!
Discipline. I am hungry for cheese, but I desperately want my dreams.
Yes. Imagine if you went for cheese and it was all moldy. ICK! 😀 You’re doing awesome lady. Just awesome.
Discipline… with a side of unruliness… but the kind of unruliness that is necessary.. and refuse to regret!
I love the refusal to regret. It gets us nowhere other than stuck in the past. Go get it lady!
.We must all suffer from one of two pains the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons…