One year ago, I figured out that one of the major things missing from my life was discipline. So, I decided to make some changes in 2010. I decided to change everything from the way I eat to how I spend my money. I set out to exercise discipline in every aspect of my life.

And, one year later, I think it has been a success. It wasn’t easy and I didn’t always exercise discpline, but I managed to improve every aspect I set out to improve, with results I’d call wildy successful.

I. Health and Wellbeing

The first, and probably most important, area I tackled was improving my physical health. I set out to eat healthier, and to eat less, not so much to lose weight, but to improve how I felt physically. I also wanted to stick to a strict workout schedule.

I started off strong, committing to a workout regime that I stuck to for a few months. Then I hurt my back and stopped working out. But, I refocused and got back into an exercise plan that I managed to stick to through the end of the year.

That combined with my strict eating plan, which involved making healthier choices and paying more attention to the amounts of food I consumed, led to 48 lbs lost in 2010. These weren’t drastic and dramatic changes. I simply ate more-structured meals, cut out my snacking, and paid attention to calories.

And, making such simple and small changes ensures me that I’ll stick to this plan and continue losing weight until I get to my goal weight. I’d like to lose about 20 more lbs, and with what I started in 2010, there’s no doubt that I will make and possibly exceed that goal.

I also had a physical towards the end of the year and was told I was in very good health, with very good blood pressure and excellent cholesterol. So, there’s that!

II. Financial

I set out in 2010 to take care of some of the financial issues resulting from my divorce. My financials were not in horrible shape, but they certainly weren’t where I wanted them. So, I set out to improve them.

In 2010, I was able to pay off my highest-interest credit card, which was a huge deal. It felt good to see it go down every month until it was eventually gone. I was very happy to be able to do that, and it makes me feel good to know I’m going into my new marriage with less debt.

I’d call that a success.

With that said, I need to continue paying down this debt. If I stick to the financial discpline that I exercise in 2010, by the end of 2011 I will be very close to being completely out of revolving debt. I have no reason to think I won’t be able to reach that goal because I laid a solid foundation by paying off that credit card in 2010.

III. Social

I’ve never really been a social person by nature, so making more of an effort to get out and meet people and experience new things was difficult. It’s not that I avoid it as much as I just don’t really think much about it.

Looking back, I have made some strides in socializing. I met some new people, and developed stronger relationships with some of my friends. I can’t say I’ve reached my goal, but I am certainly on my way.

I don’t know that I’d call it a huge success, but I am making progress, which is a small victory.

IV. Focus 

Lastly, I set out to improve my overall focus, both personally and professionally. I wanted to grow in both areas, and I think that in 2010, I have.

Thanks in part to a marriage course Nadia and I took through our church, we strengthened our relationship. Our communication and the way we interact improved dramaticall. It’s not that it was bad in the first place, but we learned healthier ways of communication and resolving disagreements. This has helped strengthen our bond and ensures we have a solid foundation on which to build our marriage.

The course also helped me relate better to my daughter, and be a better father to her. It helped me take a more active role with Nyah and develop a stronger relationship with her. I’ve been very pleased with how our relationship has improved.

The course and literature I read for the course also helped me deal with my ex-wife better. I never had animosity towards her, but we certainly didn’t talk much and when we did it was awkward. I worked on making sure to be clear and talking our issues out. And while it’s still a work in progress, it has definitely improved, and helped us get on the same page for Nyah’s sake.

Professionally, I’ve seen some growth and have learned new technologies for work, as well as getting back into my original business, journalism. I’ve made more strides in journalism than I have in the technical writing arena, but I’m pleased with the progress I’ve made in both areas. In 2011, I need to keep growing into this job otherwise I’ll get stuck.

All in all, 2010 was a good year. 48 lbs lost. 1 high-interest credit card paid off. Stronger relationships with Nadia and Nyah. And, the ability to communicate with my ex for my daughter’s sake. I’d call that pretty successful.

Another week in the Year of Discipline and things have been slightly better than so-so. I’d say they were decent to pretty good.

I stuck to the eating plan for the most part. The exception was on Monday night. Long story short, I told Nadia I’d take care of dinner but forgot to take meat out to thaw because I had to rush out in the morning to get my car inspected. So, I decided to order pizza.

I actually ended up geting a calzone, mozzerella sticks, and fried mushrooms. Nadia and I shared the mushrooms and mozz sticks. Together we ate them all, with me eating the lion’s share. At that point, I had half of the calzone left. I wasn’t full, but I wasn’t entirely sure I was still hungry.

Still, I ate it. the last few bites felt more like activity eating than eating because I wanted it. The good thing, though, is that I didn’t feel stuffed like I do when I’m full. That’s a good thing, I think. It tells me I didn’t eat to the point it hurt. But, I did eat more than I probably should have.

I’ve stuck to my exercising routine. I haven’t missed a day in a couple of weeks now. I feel like i’m getting stronger and more solid. I’m still at about 26 lbs lost. I am considering upping the frequency of my work outs. The weather is also getting nicer, so I might start taking walks after work.

I’m also working on a few projects at work. Nothing too stressful, but projects that are keeping me busier than usual. That’s a good thing. This week alone, I completed three semi-important tasks. So, I feel like I’m on track. Things are going pretty good right now.

Another day of sticking to the eating plan. Breakfast was the usual. For lunch, I substituted a tuna sandwich for my usual cheese sandwich. I also had an apple and an orange in the afternoon.

For dinner, I had wheat spaghetti with tomato sauce and sun dried tomato flavored chicken sausage. Despite it sounding kinda nasty, it was quite good. I also had a small piece of Nadia’s birthday cake. It should be gone hopefully tomorrow. 

Having the cake here has been tempting, but it has been a good test in self control. I could have easily finished it days ago. But, eating small quantities of it, is helping me get accustomed to discipline. That’s a main part of the reason I do things like order pizza, and eat cake.

Most of the time, these sorts of things don’t appear on diets. But, for me, the problem has always been self control and limiting the quanities. Sure, it would be easy for me to just avoid it altogether. But, in the long run, that wouldn’t help me as much because I wouldn’t be able to resist it if it is in the house, or if I am out somewhere that cake is being served.

So, I like to have it from time to time, so I can ensure that I gain more self control, and I can resist it whenever I encounter it.

Today was also a good day in terms of focus. I had a project come on my desk yesterday for a new feature to one of my company’s projects. I need to have it finished by Friday. I got a lot of it accomplished today. I’m way ahead of schedule, and if I stay focused, there is no reason for me to miss my deadline.

All in all, a good day for the Year of Discipline.

About four months ago, I started working on replacing my bathroom exhaust fan because the old one died. I hit a few snags, mainly because I was trying to cut corners to save time. Well, because of those snags — and laziness and procrastination — I managed to let the project sit in limbo for nearly five months.

Yesterday, however, I decided that I needed to focus and finish it. I mean, it is the Year of Discipline, after all. So, I brainstormed a few ideas to get over the obstacles that were preventing me from finishing it.

And, I’m happy to report that last night, I finally finished it.

This afternoon was a good afternoon. I stuck to the plan, meal-wise. I ate a cheese sandwich and a 100-calorie pack for lunch. Then I had a 100-calorie pack and a banana for my afternoon snack.

I also completed another online course for work. I took a training course for Microsoft Visio, a drawing program we use. I had a pretty good understanding of the program before I took the course, but now I think I can say that I’m proficient. It was a productive day, and I feel like I took another step towards improving my career skillset.

All in all, a good workday for the Y of D. Let’s see how I do this evening. I’m looking forward to trying to make this a complete Y of D day.

Just got finished taking an online UNIX course provided by my employer. Hard to stay focused during the course, but managed to stick with it. Learned a lot about UNIX, which should help me do my job a little better.

A couple of times through the course, which is self-paced, I wanted to take a break. Kept thinking about visiting sports news websites and YouTube. But, I didn’t. I plugged away until I was finally finished.

Hopefully, having a better understanding of the operating system will make me more valuable to my employer. That should lead to professional growth.

Got a call tonight from Jenn that Nyah got in trouble at school. Apparently, she punched a little boy in the stomach. She has hit this boy before, seemingly unprovoked. As a matter of fact, the boy’s mother spoke with Jenn about it before.

My guess is that it has to have happened a couple of times before the mother had to step in. But, I didn’t hear about it until after the boy’s mom spoke to Jenn.

At that time, Nyah and I had a talk about hitting. I explained to her the consequences of hitting people, and made sure she understood what we were talking about. The talk seemed to work for a while, as no hitting incidents were reported… that is, until today.

Jenn called me to let me know what was going on. I’m glad she did, as I’m trying to improve my personal focus. A part of that is being a better father. So, being included in this sort of thing is good — strengthens my relationship with my daughter.

After Jenn and I talked, she handed the phone over to Nyah. I asked Nyah if she remembered our talk. She said she didn’t. (Jenn later said that judging by the look on her face, she remembered our talk.) We quickly reviewed the talk, and I said we’d talk about it again when she comes over for the weekend.

I knew the reason behind the hitting months ago. Nyah is significantly younger than her siblings. They don’t play like young kids, they play like older kids – roughhousing, hitting, and the like. Not that I condone that behavior, but I understand that some kids do that.

So Nyah, being used to playing with older kids who may not find her hits to be very powerful, hits younger kids, thinking she’s playing. But, to them, her hits hurt. That’s part of what I went over with her in our first discussion. That her classmates don’t understand that she’s playing. (Obviously we also covered how hitting — even playful hitting — is not acceptable.)

Jenn suspects that is the case, along with Nyah observing how her brother plays with his friends, and how her sister interacts with her boyfriend. (They playfully hit, too.) Jenn thinks that Nyah has a crush on this boy and sees her sister hit her boyfriend, so she associates that with liking. So, she hits him.

Jenn has informed Nyah’s siblings not to hit in front of her. (She should probably tell them not to hit in general, but one thing at a time, I guess.) She’s also disciplining Nyah when she hits someone, which is good. Nyah had all of her priviledges revoked, which she did not like. I’m not sure how long she will be grounded, but if she is still grounded at her mom’s then she’ll be grounded here.

Jenn and I had a good conversation about how to handle the situation and I’m pleased with how we worked it out. It was healthy communication — an area where I am weak. Last year, I’m not sure  we would have been able to do this. But, this year is the Year of Discipline, which means making more of an effort to communication with Jenn for the wellbeing of Nyah.

So, I’m still on the right path.

Got a text early yesterday morning that I couldn’t take Nyah for the weekend because she was sick and running a fever. We planned to have Nyah open gifts today because we didn’t have her for Christmas. That plan was nearly ruined.

Then, Jenn called and told me that her fever broke and that she was feeling better. She left it up to me as to whether or not I wanted to take her.

Previously, I might have considered not taking her while she was sick, as hard as it for me to admit that, because it would have been too much work to give her medicine and monitor her.

But, I need to take every opportunity to be with her that I can, and should value that time. So, I did.

We picked her up around noon today and brought her back to open presents. She has a slight fever, but is otherwise okay and in good spirits. She loved her presents, even thought she said there were “too many.” (Have to admit, never heard a kid complain of having too many presents.)

Anyway, it was well worth it.