This week’s question from our portal “Ask Us Anything” comes someone who wishes to remain anonymous.
I heard you mention that you do exactly the same routine every day, but I struggle with this level of consistency. My excuse is that I like variety – I don’t like doing the same thing every day. How can I implement discipline and consistency while honoring my preference for variety? Another challenge is that my upbringing taught me that planning too much is presumptuous – that “only God knows” if things will work out, and planning might even “jinx” your efforts. These beliefs are deeply ingrained and cause me to fall far behind where I want to be.
Your “liking variety” is simply an excuse. I used to say the same thing. If you want different experiences and variety, find different times for those things, but in areas where you need discipline, letting that excuse remain will prevent follow-through.
I strongly recommend scheduling time for variety and spontaneity on your calendar. Don’t deny yourself those experiences – put them on your calendar so you don’t feel cheated or shorted. Whether it’s time off, doing something wild and crazy, letting loose, or just needing rest or alone time, schedule it and stick to it.
As for your belief that planning somehow usurps God’s authority or jinxes outcomes – Napoleon Hill actually addressed this problem in “Think and Grow Rich.” He said people must learn to overcome family superstitions. These are all superstitions, not spiritual truths. God doesn’t decide everything for you – you were given the power to choose. The idea that God is choosing everything for you is an ignorant doctrine not supported by the Bible or any other religion. Human beings were given the ability to change their own lives.
The only way you can “jinx” something is by thinking negatively about it. You are the creative power.
This realization puts responsibility squarely on your shoulders, which connects to our previous conversation. You’ve spent your whole life being subordinate to other people’s ideas, feelings, and demands. You haven’t stepped into your own power enough. It’s 100% necessary for you to do that now. You need to draw the line and set boundaries, starting with your family. If you don’t start setting boundaries and taking your power back, you’ll never achieve success because you’ll always stop at the first sign of pressure from those around you.
