Green Belt: Discipline

Time to complete: 30 days

Discipline means taking small steps every day that lead to a larger goal. Why is discipline so important? Because there are no shortcuts to success. Whether you are trying to be a good athlete, go to college, or become a musician, the only way to get there is by improving every day. Improving a little bit each day is also the best way to build your confidence. In fact, if you're disciplined there is almost nothing that you cannot learn or do.

To earn your green belt, you must show discipline over a 30-day period. Below, you will find three examples of how teens earned their green belts. Here's how you should pick what you show discipline in:

• Choose an area that you want to improve in. It can be a continuation of something you started in White Belt.
• Write down where you are right now with that area.
• Write down your prediction of where you will be after 30 days.
• You should be able to write a short before and after statement, just like in the examples below.

Once you've picked your area, for 30 days, you should take five minutes to write in your journal about the small improvement you made that day. This seems simple and easy, but the power you feel from focusing will be beyond what you can imagine.

Examples

Example 1: Mary and the Guitar
Mary wanted to learn how to play the guitar. Her goal over 30 days was to practice her guitar at least 5 times a week and learn how to play at least 2 songs. She kept a notebook where every day she wrote how long she had practiced.

Before: "I don't know how to play any chords or songs."
After 30 days: "I can now play three songs, including No Woman No Cry by Bob Marley."

Example 2: Tyrone and the Summer Program
Tyrone wanted to attend a summer program or leadership camp in a different state. So he 1) Made a schedule for how he would apply to the five programs he had found during White Belt 2) Applied to the five programs.

Before: "I have not applied to any summer programs."
After 30 days: "I have applied to five programs."

Example 3: Janice and the Short Story
Janice dreams of being a writer. To earn her Green Belt, she decided that she would write a new short story by writing just one page every day for 30 days.

Before: "I have never written a short story."
After 30 days: "I have written a short story called The Silver Bullet, and shared it with my friends and teachers."