Interior Discipline Should Be at the Top of Your New Year’s Resolutions
"Exercise self-discipline, for you are God's athlete; the prize is immortality and eternal life, as you know full well." - St. Ignatius of Antioch
Do you make New Year’s resolutions? I do. But I can’t help but notice that a lot of people seem to be anti-New Year’s resolutions. And to be fair, many of us lose interest in our big plans by February (maybe March if we’re lucky), and the oh-so-wonderful plans are thrown aside until another year rolls around.
But I don’t think this means that January resolutions are bad. We all need a reset, a clean slate, a new chapter. The start of a new year possesses the palpable feeling of beginning again. Taking advantage of that is not silly; it makes sense. It reminds me of Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables joyously noting, “Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it?"
We often confuse inspiration with discipline. The idea of starting fresh is inspiring. What would I do with a clean slate? The list of resolutions practically writes itself; after all, it’s fun. All of life’s glittering possibilities are within reach. Oh, how exhilarating! A flood of motivation comes with that high. After a cold and snuggly December, you have the motivation to hit the gym. You are eager to pull out the knitting needles and have a creative hobby. You are ready to sit down and write a novel. And of course, you’re going to wake up an hour earlier.
It’s all so grand! You can visualize the new you, and so those first few days are an adrenaline rush. You’re motivated and excited. But like all our fancies, those feelings are fleeting. As quickly as they came on, they pack up and leave. The inspiration dissipates, and your motivation is quickly snuffed out.
And so, distraught, you return to the old habits and pledge to try again next year.
The Problem is Not the Resolutions; The Problem is a Lack of Discipline
Living on the high of inspiration will never lead to anything. It’s entirely based on whimsy, and yet, so many of us struggle with this. We get excited, aim big, and then lose steam. What’s missing is interior discipline. Interior discipline keeps us faithful to the task at hand.
We live in an age of constant distractions. The perpetual noise produces a sort of lukewarmness. If we are too focused on our phones, the media, the news, etc., our souls become corroded and sluggish. A go-to-the-gym resolution won’t cure these ills, because these ills are calamities of the soul.
We need to bring about healing by placing parameters on our own lives. We need to do things like: deliberately spend time in prayer, monitor screen time, avoid gossip and doom scrolling, and instead cultivate the presence of God. But to do that, we must have interior discipline.
How to Find Discipline
“To know ourselves is a very painful process.” — Alice von Hildebrand
The first step is to be honest with ourselves. This is not easy, and it may take a lot of prayer, asking for the humility and grace to see ourselves properly. Interior discipline means self-control — being able to live according to values, pursue our goals, and say no to distractions. What are our weak areas? Staying up too late? Checking the phone constantly? Procrastinating on the tasks we dislike?
Then we have to stop waiting for motivation to show up. Instead, we must diligently work toward building habits. As Catholics, this is good news because virtue is the “habitual and firm disposition to do good.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1833) So cultivating interior discipline also helps us grow in holiness.
Discipline is an act of will. We have to deliberately choose to temper ourselves. Life will continue on with its distractions and interruptions. That is okay. It’s not an excuse to give up. We can start small. Things like putting our phones away by a certain hour, or picking a set bedtime, are all excellent starting points. And all of these things should be accompanied by prayer.
God wants to make us saints. He delights when we ask for help, and we can be confident that He will sustain us. So, this New Year, I encourage you to strive for interior discipline. It will change your life.
Ann Burns is the founder of The Feminine Project, an organization dedicated to restoring the joy of womanhood. She is a writer and speaker, and strives to uphold what is truly good and beautiful. Most of all, she is a wife and mother, and loves to share the joy in living each day well.