Life has a nasty habit of "getting in the way" of your goals and aspirations. With one quick swipe, the events of your day or week can eliminate your motivation to tackle that next big project or complete the day's workout. In those moments, it's easy to say "I'll do it tomorrow" and take that moment to rest or spend the night in front of the TV. I know that I have certainly fallen victim to that mentality a countless number of times. That comfort is a vacuum that draws you in to a life of complacency and mediocrity. Thankfully there is a tool to overcome these temptations: DISCIPLINE.
Discovering Discipline
As I have documented in my previous post (here), lived a life that was unhealthy, unproductive, and had no discipline. If I didn't want to work out, not a problem watching some TV sounds better anyway. I wouldn't want to do anything on my days off or after work other than sit around and "hang out" at the house. The journey to developing discipline was not an overnight journey for me, nor would I consider myself to have mastered the skill. However, I now realize and understand when I am missing the mark. I have become more planful and now view those "hang out" moments as activities that are scheduled, instead of my as my default setting. My realization of the power and necessity of discipline started with reading Jocko Willink's "Discipline Equals Freedom" and then was reinforced through David Goggins' "Can't Hurt Me" (beware: adult language and content), both linked below.
Becoming Intentional About Discipline
What I have learned is that being disciplined has to be intentional. There definitely times where I cave into temptations and have that wonderful sugary delight, but I also realize that it is a momentary lapse of my discipline. It is a conscious decision in that moment, and that is ok, but not one that I will allow to continue indefinitely. I am intentional about knowing that I have worked hard and upheld my discipline and it is ok to reward that discipline with a moment of enjoyment. This applies to all aspects of my life, which is key. Jocko preaches an approach of discipline in ALL things in your life. His belief (and I agree) is that it isn't possible to only have discipline in one area of your life. From my own experience, as I have become more disciplined with my health and fitness, I have become more disciplined and intentional in EVERY aspect of my life. I am disciplined in ensuring my calendar is updated and accurate, that I am completing 1 to 1s with everyone that reports through me, that I am eating the right types of food, and that I am completing my DAILY workout. By the way, rest days are essential so even rest days is part of my workout schedule. Getting proper rest is intentional and essential for self care.
From my own experience, as I have become more disciplined with my health and fitness, I have become more disciplined and intentional in EVERY aspect of my life.
Disciplined Leadership
Managing a growing team provides new challenges each day. Some challenges are common or recurring, and others are new curveballs or wrinkles you have never experienced. No matter how much I have experienced in my leadership career, there are always new problems and challenges that arise that need tackled. However, one thing that has become clear to me is that if I am disciplined in my approach to the core functions of my role I am more capable of tackling the challenges and problems. These basics include schedule/calendar maintenance and upkeep, employee 1 to 1s, note taking, communication, and planning. I have found that when I set a solid foundation, through a disciplined approach, I can then focus my energy and attention on the next emergency that comes up.
Lapses of Discipline
The "new year, new me" movement has become notorious for the frequent failure to follow through. In watching this occur to countless folks, it typically plays out the same way. They come out of the gate strong and dive in hard. However some bump along the way will come up and instead of leaning into discipline and pushing through that tough day they fold. This is a pivotal moment where it can be viewed as a lapse of their new found discipline and dedication. Instead, what I see occur is that one single event starts to snowball and grow from one miss into a cascade of misses until they declare failure and just give up. This phenomenon is easily identified by gym attendance and even grocery availability. The first couple weeks of a new year the gyms are packed and the fruits and vegetables are sold out at the local grocery store. By the end of the month, everything is back to their typical levels as most folks have thrown in the flag. Relying on motivation every day is not a winning strategy, it certainly didn't work for me. In the early days of my fitness journey I would rely on motivation to get out the door, which meant I had a ton of missed workouts. However, I was able to lean on peer accountability to keep me moving forward. Once I realized the importance of discipline my fitness goals have taken off to new levels, along with numerous other aspects of my personal and professional life. It's ok to have momentary lapses in judgement or give in to temptation, but discipline has to keep you on the right path and ensure that it isn't an event that showballs into a failure.
It's ok to have momentary lapses in judgement or give in to temptation, but discipline has to keep you on the right path and ensure that it isn't an event that showballs into a failure.