Sacrifice & discipline are rarely spoken of together. Yet their partnership and dependency on each other is quite stunning.
Sacrifice is very goal or vision oriented. We give up something today for something better tomorrow. We sacrifice our time to be with family or to volunteer our services because we want more connection in our lives. Sacrifices are also made so that we can lose weight, exercise or go to school at night to get more training.
There is a greater good or vision of the future that influences us to make a sacrifice. Sacrifices could involve money or food (think diet) instead of time. We have a goal we want to reach that forces us to give up some things today for something bigger, more fulfilling, and achievable in our minds tomorrow.
So if sacrifice is the aspiration, who executes to see that we reach the goal or vision we promised ourselves? That is where discipline comes in.
Discipline forces us to choose (each time) based on where we want to get to rather than what is most enjoyable “in the moment”. When we “have” discipline, our goal slowly appears before us.
When we don’t have discipline, even though we made sacrifices in the past, or stated the sacrifice we are committed to make, our goal will always remain a distant dream.
The presence of sacrifice in our lives is good. When it requires you to follow through once, no discipline is needed. Sacrifice that requires frequent choices, requires a partnership with discipline to bring their relationship and ultimate goal/vision to life.
Discipline without having aspirations or goals, makes you appear much too rigid to others. Having a purpose or goals in life, that require both sacrifice and discipline, sets boundaries on the discipline in your life that becomes explainable to others.
When sacrifice & discipline are used together as a partnership, they become your stepping stones toward realizing a life you’ve dreamed of if you try. Making your tomorrow much more satisfying when you get there.