So Nobody Else Has To

I was sitting here today doing a run-through of Lead Yourself, part of the leadership development training.

I came to a section about the difference between doing and becoming.

Doing is what we see on the outside—running meetings, delegating, making decisions, managing people.

Becoming is what’s happening underneath the surface. It’s the mindset, character, and habits that ultimately determine how we do those things.

One of the words on the slide was discipline.

As I was teaching - apparently to myself - I said something I had never said quite this way before:

“I choose to discipline me so that nobody else has to.”

I stopped.

That's a pretty good place to be.

Think about it.

When I discipline myself to do what I said I would do, someone else doesn't have to remind me.

When I hold myself accountable, someone else doesn't have to.

When I manage my attitude, preparation, effort, and follow-through, someone else doesn't have to manage them for me.

That's leading yourself.

And I've discovered something else about discipline.

Discipline builds evidence.

Every time I make a commitment to myself and keep it, I create another piece of evidence that says, I can trust myself to do hard things.

It doesn't have to start big.

Small choices.
Small commitments.
Small wins.

Those wins begin to stack up.

Eventually, I'm trying to be more disciplined starts becoming:

I am disciplined.

I've certainly chosen some hard things over the years—personally and professionally. One was tackling a Spartan Super at Blue Mountain with my son. It was hard. It was also a blast.

But discipline isn't built only on mountains and obstacle courses.

It's built Tuesday morning when nobody is watching.

Where in your life are you still waiting for someone else to provide the discipline you could choose for yourself?

Choose to discipline yourself -

so nobody else has to.