If you were told you were never going to win the game you loved most would you still play? If you thought that you had almost no chance to succeed would you still try?
When the odds are stacked against you, and failure is the most likely outcome, do you rise to the challenge or raise the white flag?
In order to overcome obstacles, either in life or sport it perhaps only takes one thing; discipline. In order to be a better writer, you write, a lot. If you want to get faster you train. Need to lose a few pounds, then you lead a disciplined lifestyle of diet and exercise. When I wanted to learn about discipline I looked to an unlikely source that perhaps was the most obvious all along, Mike Tyson. Admired by most and hated by even more, Mike Tyson at his pinnacle was the epitome of discipline. When asked about discipline Mike says this "
Discipline is doing what you hate to do, but nonetheless doing it like you love it."
The interviwer then asked how do you do that? to which Mike replied: "discipline."
To me truer words have never been spoken. Most of us are goal driven, or even more specifically result driven. But how do you achieve those results? Discipline. Discipline of the mind, discipline of the body and discipline of lifestyle. As for me I like to set goals, usually quite lofty goals, but ones that are still achievable. I have found that if you set the goal to high, that you almost assume failure before you have even begun. Goals must also be tangible, reachable and their terms definite. Don't just say I want to lose weight, say I want to weigh xxx, by such and such a date. Don't just say I want be rich, say I want to have x amount of dollars in the bank by the time I turn 40.
But before a goal or result can ever be realized a certain transaction must take place. A certain 'this for that' type of transaction by which in order to attain result x, you must first give up, sacrifice, put on hold or surrender y . Why? because nothing in life comes easy. If you want to be a better runner, you must train, hours on end, week after week. So how do you pay for that training? You use your free time, time that could be spent doing myriad other things, that frankly might be more enjoyable in the short term, but the training will be more rewarding long term. And what is the currency you pay with? Discipline. The same principles apply to business as well. Whether you work for someone or are self employed, the harder you work, the greater the goals achieved. But again there is a price to pay and the universal currency is discipline.
Discipline to me is not all self flagelation though. Discipline is a balancing act. The ability to balance family life, with work and play while still achieving what you want is perhaps the trickiest of all. I wish I could set a training schedule that never got interrupted. But try telling a 8 year old and a 6 year old that Daddy has to go out for another run, or another ride. Watch their faces turn from excited to disappointed at the realization that yet again they lose while I win. So lately the balancing act has gotten a bit trickier. With the "Summer of Do" in full effect my mantra lately has been quality over quantity. Rather than the 7 or 8 miler I had hoped for, I find myself going out for a 4 miler. A hard and fast 4 miler,but a 4 none the less. Or lately, I find myself at work in the shop til 3 in the morning making up time so that I can get a project out somewhat close to the delivery date.
Without discipline I would probably just chuck it all in favor of just hanging with the family, or sleeping in or being contented with the status quo. That is just not my style. If I know I am capable, then I will push myslef. If I have an inkling that something is achievable through hard work and sacrifice, then I push all doubts out of my head and I go for it. Better yet, tell me I can't do something. I may struggle, and I may initially fail, but I will try. I will pay the price that needs to be paid in hard work, in sacrifice, in sweat and sometimes even tears, but I will try my hardest. The outcome may not always be pretty, but the goal will be met.
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