Devotion Over Discipline: The One Word That Changed Everything
How I stopped whipping myself forward and started loving myself there
Everyone asks me the same question at the start of each year:
"How do you stay on task? How do you keep up your willpower? How don't you just... give up?"
And I get it. January rolls around, we're fired up with intentions and aspirations, mapping out our dreams with precision and excitement. But then January feels like an eternity… the February fade kicks in. Life gets in the way. Something happens. We run out of steam. We feel like we are failing at life. Again.
At the beginning of 2024, I found myself in exactly this space. I was determined to get my new brand and business off the ground, to reach millions of women with my message of joy - joy in the dark, joy in the hard, joy at the top.
I sat down and asked myself: What do I need to make this happen?
The answer came quickly: Discipline. Determination. Dedication.
The three D's. That's what I needed. I'd load up on those three words and go, go, go.
When the Solution Sounds Like Punishment
But as I sat there in meditation one morning, a thought dropped into my consciousness like a stone into still water:
Those three D's sound more like whips.
And I don't like to be whipped. It really isn’t my thing – (but you do you boo if it’s yours!)
I was heading into my 50th year. Did I really want to build my life on hustle energy? Force energy? Push energy? On this "oh god this feels so hard" energy that makes everything feel like a slog?
My body was clear, my sacral just drying up at the sound of it: the answer a resounding no.
So I sat there in quiet contemplation and asked a different question: What energy do I actually want to create from?
And one word came through, crystal clear:
Devotion.
Stay devoted. Stay true to your mission.
The Energy of Devotion
At that time, my mantra was simple: to live and love my life as much as I possibly could. I'd just lost a very dear friend to pancreatic cancer, and I was laser-focused on living the most joyful, loving life possible.
Being devoted to that mission - to living and loving my life, to enjoying it, to being with my family and friends, to finding passion and purpose I was fully behind - was such a better energy.
Not discipline. Devotion.
• I'm devoted to myself
• I'm devoted to my health
• I'm devoted to my family, my sons, their life.
• I'm devoted to my mission and purpose of bringing joy to the world
• I'm devoted to doing work I love
• I'm devoted to sharing a message I'm passionate about
• I'm devoted to the health of my body so I can live the longest life possible
• I'm devoted to my husband
• I'm devoted to romance and adventure
• I'm devoted to making the most beautiful home
• I'm devoted to having as much fun as I possibly can
I'm devoted to this one fucking life.
Why This Matters for Women Who Hold Everyone Else
If you're a woman in leadership - whether that's in the C-suite, running your own business, or as the CEO of your household - you already know what it means to hold everyone else together.
Your team looks to you. Your board expects results. Your family needs you. Your aging parents depend on you. Your teenagers require you to keep them in line and safe. Your babes rely on you to feed them, nourish them. Your friends know you are the one who will listen and give them the advice they need or the opinion they want to hear. Everyone wants a piece of you.
You're brilliant at leading and looking after everyone else. But who's leading and looking after you?
For years, the answer we've been sold is: discipline and consistency is what gets results. Push through with tenacity and determination. Dedication your backbone! That's what strong women do, right?
Wrong.
Because here's what I discovered: You wouldn't lead your team, your children or your partner (?!!!) with a whip. So why are you leading yourself that way?
Devotion as the Foundation of Joy
My recipe for joy has four pillars:
Health of the body
Peace of the mind
Love for your life
Belief in the power of your dreams, magic, and manifestation
And devotion? Devotion is woven through every single one.
I'm devoted to the health of my body - not through punishing workouts or restrictive diets, but through honouring what makes me feel alive and strong.
I'm devoted to the peace of my mind - not by forcing meditation or positive thinking, but by creating space for stillness and self-compassion.
I'm devoted to the love of my life - my marriage, my family, my home, my work - not out of obligation, but out of genuine devotion to love in all areas of my life.
I'm devoted to my dreams, my life, and my future - not by grinding toward them, but by believing in them so deeply that every action becomes an act of devotion.
And I'm devoted to believing in faith - in the magic of manifestation, in the power of joy as strategy, in the rebellion of choosing love over lack, faith over force, heart before hussle!
Why Devotion Works When Discipline Fails
That's how I stay on point. That's how I stay on task. That's how I don't lose motivation.
Because devotion is love.
To be devoted is love. Devotion is a beautiful, loving, honourable energy rooted in passion, not punishment. It's about being pulled forward by what fills up your heart and soul, not forcing yourself forward with a whip to crack on your back!
Devotion fuels my fire. Discipline creates stakes to burn at.
So when you're setting your intentions for 2026, ask yourself: are you trying to discipline yourself into change, or devote yourself to something you love so much you can't help but move toward it?
The difference isn't just semantic. It's everything.
A Place for Devotion, Not Discipline
If this resonates with you - if you want to be more devoted to your joy, your life, your health, your body, your dreams - this is exactly why I created The Joy Rebellion membership.
It's a place and a community for women who want to make sure they are prioritizing themselves and their joy. Women who are holding everyone else but need a space where they are held.
Because here's what I know: when you're devoted to your joy, you don't blow everything up. You don't burn out. You don't lose yourself in the process of taking care of everyone else.
The Joy Rebellion is about devotion, not discipline. It's a beautiful, loving, honourable space where you can stay devoted to yourself - to your health, your peace, your love, and your dreams.
Because joy isn't the reward you earn after you've checked all the boxes.
Joy is the strategy.
And devotion is how you stay true to it so joy becomes the super attractor.
Ready to make devotion & JOY your strategy for 2026?
Join The Joy Rebellion here or Learn more about working with me
Lots of love,
Ali x
The Joy Rebellion
The Joy Rebellion is my membership for women who thought life would get easier at 40 and instead find themselves juggling ageing parents, teenagers, hormones, careers, relationships and the quiet question of “is this it?” all at the same time.
It’s a grounded, supportive space to choose yourself without blowing up your life - a “for you” moment in the middle of the chaos - using joy as a strategy to help you anchor back into who you are, stay in your own energy, and return to your life clearer, steadier and still brilliant in the boardroom, the bedroom and your body.
“Just a few short weeks ago I was stuck and everything felt hard
My finances, my emotions & my energy - nothing was flowing
I met Ali in the summer and have been following her Instagram since. Her joy looked beautiful and i realised it was what I wanted and needed in my life
Joining Ali’s membershiphas literally turned my life around
I am now overflowing with abundance, I wake up excited and I’m falling heavily in love with myself
My self worth, happiness and finances have sky rocketed and I now feel full of hope, big dreams and so very grateful for the life I have
Life really is better when you Joy is at the core of each decision you make and I’m so thrilled Ali showed me the way”
