Discipline, Drive, and Determination

Discipline, Drive, and Determination

No horse gets anywhere until he is harnessed. No steam or gas ever drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunneled. No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined.

-Harry Emerson Fosdick, D.D.-

The real key to success is self discipline. Well if we should have this quality to be successful we probably should know what it is. So what is discipline?

Discipline is the ability to focus on something in a consistent manner, nothing wavering. If you are disciplined you have trained your mind and body to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior.

Scott Peck, in his book The Road Less Traveled, breaks discipline into four areas: delaying of gratification, acceptance of responsibility, dedication to the truth, and belonging. He goes on to say that without discipline we can solve nothing. And with discipline we can solve anything! Its training our minds and bodies to do what we want.

People always talk about paying the price to be successful but what does that mean really??? There are so many textbook terms of what people say but lets go into depth to understand what this means and I hope to shed some light on this topic. We as human beings being carnal men have many impulsive desires. We want to drink soda, watch TV, eat out at McDonalds, play nintendo games, and be entertained in general. All of these things if analyzed well show that we are carnal men, giving into the temptations of all these different activities. They all trigger impulsive desires that make our brains think “yeah thats good for me, I’ll take that,” or “yeah thats what I need to be happy.” But really this isn’t the case.

So after careful analysis we find that our human nature is to find the path of least resistance, or the easiest path to follow. Our bodies screams “save energy!” Because of this feeling of saving energy we feel like doing whats the easiest for us! Years ago we use to have to work hard to make sure basic needs were met. People had to go out on the farm and work to make sure they could survive. Can you imagine, waking up today and thought…if I don’t get up today to plow the fields and make sure everything is ready, I probably won’t survive..can you imagine that feeling?? Well now, in our time and age, we can pop in some food in the microwave it and nuke it and we are good to go! We almost don’t have to work for anything anymore, its unbelievable! We have cars that get us to A to B so quickly when it use to take days for people to travel by horse or foot. Things are a lot easier to come by now. So we have become very complacent with ourselves because our basic needs are taken care of. Is this not correct??

So how can we battle this and what does it mean to pay the price? There is one word that sums it up for me and that is sacrifice. We have to sacrifice this carnal nature for higher meaning and create healthy habits. An example would be sacrificing the impulsive desire to go out and eat. We first need to have higher meaning in this endeavor and that of course is to be healthier, look better, be skinnier, fit better in clothes, save more money, etc. You start thinking about all the good things this does for you and its almost a no-brainer right? Now at first it will be hard to sacrifice because you have bad habits! You need to make a goal to create a healthy habit and when you sacrifice that impulsive desire you need to have something replace it or you’ll never get over your destructive habits.

Sometimes when our body is screaming “save energy, conserve energy!” we need to remember that we need to sacrifice this impulsive desire and push forward putting one foot in front of the other and just keep on going! This is what pay the price really means.. Sacrificing your impulsive desires for higher meaning in your life. Study any great person in history and thats what it comes down to. They sacrificed. They worked. They pushed forward. And succeeded. They paid the price and were disciplined in that endeavor to be consistent in their attempts. Thats how you become unstoppable.

The price that must be paid for mastery is discipline. Discipline is all about cultivating powerful habits that become part of your lifestyle.

Take a look at this:

I am your constant companion.
I am the your greatest asset or heaviest burden.
I will push you up to success or down to disappointment
I am at your command.
Half the things you do might just as well be turned over to me.
For I can do them quickly, correctly and profitably.
I am easily managed; just be firm with me.
Those who are great, I have made great.
Those who are failures, I have made failures.
I am not a machine, though I work with the precision of a machine and the intelligence of a person.
You can run me for profit, or you can run me for ruin.
Show me how you want it done. Educate me. Train me. Lead me. Reward me.
And I will then do it automatically.
I am your servant.
Who am I?
I am a habit.

Wake up every morning with a burning desire in your heart to make a difference in this world that you live in. Every person can make a difference and its like a ripple effect. Sometimes we don’t see our success but its happening.

Wake up committed to living a better life and not letting your bad habits and impulsive desires get the best of you. Have the discipline, the drive, and the determination to change your path and not always walk down the path of least resistance. Rather, live your life sacrificing for higher meaning and you will leave a legacy that cannot be forgotten.

Here are some great quotes about discipline, drive, and determination

You never will be the person you can be, if pressure, tension and discipline are taken out of your life.
-Herbert Bayard Swope-

The important thing is this: to be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we can become.
-Charles DuBois-

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
-Thomas Edison-