Volume 1 | #9 | May 6, 2019

DISCIPLINE!!!

Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow

Creeps into this petty place from day to day

To the last syllable of recorded time

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools

The way to dusty death. Out Out, brief candle

Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

And then is heard no more

As you will recall from your High School Shakespearean studies of Macbeth Act V, Scene V, this famous soliloquy was about

despair and hopelessness as Macbeth is told about the death of his wife. He expresses the meaningless of his life without her!!!

If only he had better DISCIPLINE!!!

DISCIPLINE is the ability to control your behaviour in a particular way without needing anyone else to tell you what to do!!! If only Macbeth had exploited the innate strength of his own self-discipline he may have prevented his own demise!! But that would of course have rewritten the ending of a historically renowned and highly respected play…and I failed grade eleven English Lit!!

So, we know that DISCIPLINE is the most difficult behaviour to master. What I can put off till tomorrow ..I will!!! Many have remarked that what they like best about me is my lack of discipline!!! When confronted with the need to make an earth shattering or life threatening decision many of us will ‘Turtle’ and put off the decision and try to avoid the confrontation. It takes practice to control your self-discipline. It is a learned behaviour!!!

Matt Mayberry writing in Entrepreneur magazine outlines 7 ways to gain self-discipline and strive towards greatness.

  1. Commit to Daily Excellence: How do successful people around you go about their daily lives? They strive for excellence everyday. Everything you do you should do with all your heart!!!
  2. Get enough Sleep: Most people think that sleep doesn’t affect their work or mood when in fact it’s a key factor. Create the routine and comfortable environment to get a good nights sleep…Get the rest to get the results!!!
  3. Prioritize Tasks Everyday: Don’t get caught up in the mundane tasks, focus on the themes that will drive your growth. Focus on the hard stuff first, avoid distractions and then take them on one at a time!!!
  4. Learn to say NO!! – Avoid overloading yourself. If you take on more than you can handle you risk loosing sight of your vision!! Just say NO!!
  5. Tolerate Discomfort: Discipline is not easy and change will feel uncomfortable. But you must embrace the feelings of discomfort in order grow. Step outside your comfort zone!!
  6. Forgive Yourself: It’s not all your fault!! And even if it is…forgive yourself!! Use your negative experiences to learn and better yourself. Move on, don’t dwell in the past and keep driving to personal growth.
  7. Visualize Success: When you visualize success and the future you desire, your body and mind will be motivated to reach your vision or goal. Make it happen!!

I have spent my life battling the demons of self discipline…whether it is personal issues like weight and health or business decisions around profitability and team performance…writing this weeks Inspire helped me focus on a solution, a plan to be better…I hope it helps you too!!!

If your business needs a little inspiration give us a call or connect online today!