“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment” as the great Jim Rohn would say. One of the greatest life lessons that my grandpa taught me from an early age was that there is a right time and place for everything. You need to be disciplined enough in life in order to stay sharp and understand the right balance of everything coming your way and everything you are taking on.
What was once considered to be a respected and admirable quality has taken the backseat in this generation that doesn't really know how to say no to anything. What we have ultimately become are a people that have forgot how to sacrifice and work hard. We opt for the easy way out, the sexy, the here and now and that is because the discipline is gone and we’re only after what appeases and appeals to us in the moment.
If you look at the majority of the population, they are average -- and that’s because they lack the discipline needed to become the small percentage of people who have lives that are actually worth something in this world. Discipline is one of the most necessary traits for success.
It is what keeps you levelheaded and helps you understand what is right and what is wrong. It’s not about always picking the sexiest thing or the thing that shines the brightest. It’s about seeing a rough gem and having the patience and discipline to turn it into a diamond. That is what success is.
Our generation has essentially become procrastinators who lack any form of discipline whatsoever. Our insecurities have screwed up our priorities. Like uploading Instagram pictures everywhere we go, checking Facebook every 5 seconds and living on Twitter. It’s FOMO that has taken over discipline as well as YOLO.
It’s the thought that we can live life with no consequences and not have to deal with our terrible decisions until later on -- pushing something until later just like we always do with everything that is in front of us. It’s waiting until the last hour to study for a test or taking those extra 15 minutes of sleep when we know we are going to be late if we do so.
Ya, we do only live once but this isn’t a new revelation or a new finding. It doesn't mean we can be complete idiots with our lives. We are responsible for our own actions and choices…and poor choices are going to be what kills this generation in the long run. Going out on a Monday night until 5am when you know you shouldn’t, just because you feel like you work hard and play hard is not the answer to all your problems. You don't even know what hard work really is.
Discipline is where hard work stems from. It is never missing a work out, staying on schedule with what you need to do and being the most efficient you can possibly be when you are focusing on something. The issue is that many of us have lost focus on what is really important and moved into the distractions that life offers. Life is a trap that sucks people in.
It offers an easy way out almost every time to test your will-power to see how lazy you truly are. 9/10 people will take the road most traveled, will f*ck around and try to coast by life, but then there is that one person that holds himself to a higher standard than everyone else. That is the one that feels guilty even going to sleep because he is wasting valuable time. Those are the leaders of the world and the ones that are considered to be pioneers because they have discipline.
The issue is that many people don't know how to control themselves or their minds. They are too easily influenced by others and are too easy influenced by the easy way out telling them to cut corners and not to do something to their utmost potential.
“It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action, and discipline that enabled us to follow through.” Zig Ziglar
You will soon realize that true success is only based on yourself, your mindset and how far you really want to take yourself. No one will be there to push you or watch your back, it relies on you to grow, and you will soon see that discipline will become both your most important and most difficult aspect of life to maintain.
The disciplined life is one of goals that are attained. It’s one of free time truly being free time because we’ve had the discipline to finish what we started. Knowing it’s time to enjoy the moment. It’s one of satisfaction. Purpose. Fun. A disciplined life doesn’t mean following rules. It’s a life lived in the pursuit of a dream.
“Without discipline, there’s no life at all.” Katherine Hepburn
So many of us see discipline as the enemy of living. But without it, our pursuit of happiness is fleeting. It’s filled with quick fixes. Nothing lifelong or permanent. When you really look at it, you will see that discipline is the refining fire by which talent becomes an actual ability.
A life is a waste if we don’t possess discipline. It’s knowing what is right and wrong for you in your life, it’s knowing how to control yourself and focus so that you can keep your eye on the bull’s-eye. When you take your eye off the target, you will miss it -- and each time you lack discipline or slip up, your eye is taken off the target.
People are too afraid to set targets because they feel like they will never hit them, so instead of having to deal with failure, they just coast through life feeling lost, uncertain, not knowing what to do with themselves. Which is why you hear so many young adults say they don't know what to do with their lives. Discipline can only develop in your life if you stop being a pussy and decide to create a target. If you fail, big f*cking deal -- at least you tried, whereas most of this world is too afraid.
Yes we slip up. It’s a part of life. We have ebbs and flows. Ups and downs. Sunshine and rain. It’s expected. But – for example – if you want to construct your ultimate physique, you’re going to have to possess a certain amount of discipline. If you want to achieve any goal. You need discipline.
Make the road less traveled easier to navigate.
Life should be filled with massive dreams. Dreams that send chills down your spine. Dreams that keep you up at night because your ambition is eating away at you. But, these dreams shouldn’t stay dreams. If they do, it’s a travesty. A crime of the highest order and of the utmost disrespect to the fact that we’re all immensely fortunate with the gifts we possess. We have the obligation to make the most out of these gifts and these dreams we have.
The greatest tragedy in life is a wasted talent, as it was said in "Bronx Tale.” It all comes down to motivation because that is what keeps your discipline intact. The same can be said for a dream, an ultimate goal or anything else we aspire to achieve. There are a few things we need to do to ensure that we stay motivated and consistently disciplined.
In order to stay motivated, you need to make it real. You need to make your actions real and work towards what you really want. A dream is only a dream if it’s never seen as a goal. Then you have to make it emotional, you have to f*cking love it more than anything else and be obsessed with it. Your emotions behind it and your passion that you will build for it will have you live, eat and sleep it. It’s about connecting your target with who you are inside to build that road to get you there.
Then of course come the great plan and your backbone. This is when you must brainstorm about how you are actually going to pull this off. What you are going to need to do and how you are going to actually make this happen. Make sure this is something that you can agree with so that your belief is completely behind it at all times.
Now you have to picture it, envision yourself there and at the top of where you want to be. Now it’s time to recognize the discipline you are going to need to be perfect.
Get used to picturing where you’re going. You’ve heard the saying, “keep your eye on the prize.” It’s powerful. All it means is that you’re going to focus. Focusing on the goal or dream is so much easier when we’re constantly seeing it.
It’s not only a powerful way to stay disciplined and focus on the dream. It’s fun. You need to love to dream, but you also need to love the action that you are putting forth to get you there. One does not work without the other and that is where discipline comes in.
Don’t wait for the perfect plan, the right time or for the cards to fall in line. Just start.
Start today. Seriously. Start planning things out, yes. But don’t wait in any way. Just know what the first step is to get moving on it. Procrastination can kill any dream. It can keep that dream a dream. 99.999% of us WON’T complete this step. We’re scared. Lazy. We don’t care enough.
If you do care enough. Develop this before anything else. And do it today.
“Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty.” Frank Herbert
Preston Waters | Elite.
