Smart, but Undisciplined
Do you ever feel like you’re not living up to your potential?
You might look at your life and say, “Surely I can do better than this!” Or on the other side of a mistake, “I knew better.” Potential is the idea that you’re able to be different and more capable than you are now. But why don’t we always live up to what might be possible?
Perhaps we lack focus, knowledge, or training. Our imagination of potential might be unrealistic (no one is capable of everything).
A few years back, I looked over my life and saw areas I wished to be different. It wasn’t like I didn’t know what to do. Through education and personal study, I learned enough to have a good sense of the right course. But these areas remained off track.
Through a time of prayer, honesty, and counsel; one phrase came to the surface: “You’re smart, but undisciplined.“
Talk about a wake-up call!
I should have realized this earlier. It’s a classic Bible principle: hearing without doing is basically worthless!
God gives us all we need to fulfill the calling he’s placed upon our lives. No Christian is left without resources, gifts, and abilities. But all the best resources, gifts, knowledge, and opportunities don’t yield results without the application of discipline.
Why don’t we go through with the things we know to do? Often, because it’s just plain hard.
The path is difficult. There are no shortcuts worth taking, no magic bullets that actually work. No quick fixes. Giving up is an option, and giving up fixes the hard part… at least in the moment.
So, what’s to be done? We must discipline ourselves to keep pressing on.
You might need to see a project to completion, continue fighting against sin, or exercise courage to show up in difficult relationships. Discipline means you stay focused and keep going.
This is not to say that some things shouldn’t be dropped. Continuing down the wrong path is silly. But if the direction is good and the cause matters, we’re just going to have to go through some hard stuff.
Where in your life do you know what to do, but you need to exercise discipline to keep going?