Motherhood is hard. And if you are committed to positive discipline, parenting requires an extra dose of patience, self-control, and fortitude. But these skills aren’t only for the benefit of your children: They can help create lasting change in your own life, too.

Just a couple years after getting married at the tender age of 21, I felt hopeless. I had gone from a size 2 to a size 10-pushing-12, I struggled with anxiety, and I couldn’t stay on top of my chronic illness. In fact, I had convinced myself that my type 1 diabetes diagnosis would keep me from having children altogether, because I didn’t feel like I had the discipline to get my life on track…