Lesson 1: Discipline

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 Lesson 1: Discipline

Better people make better anythings.

Specifically, better people make better coaches. Better people make better spouses. Better people make better teachers and administrators (like Steve Whitaker, Ph.D.). Better people make better bus drivers. Better people make better sons, better daughters. Better people make better photographers (like Collin Strachan). Better people make better electricians. Better people make better students. Better people make better athletes. I could go on and on and on.

Better people make better anythings because better people have better character—which then drives performance. Think about it. If someone is hardworking, resilient, creative, unselfish, honest, respectful, focused, trustworthy—and a myriad of other character skills—what will happen to the value they offer? What will happen to their contribution to the team?

I am committed to helping teams think deeply about the practicalities of character skill development. That said, if I am not personally devoted to growing great character myself, I will be a lousy facilitator. To that point, today’s focus is on taking the skill of discipline to a higher level.

When I was younger and running fast and furious (relatively speaking), I was super disciplined, juggling my roles as a wife, mom, and medical professional with a demanding training schedule. After decades of that, however, I am finding an unfortunate inverse relationship between aging and a disciplined way of living.

It’s hard for me to run long when it’s cold and rainy. In fact, sometimes I can’t even force myself out the door for a short run when it’s sunny. I fight with myself—and often lose—to get on the floor to do core work. I know what I should do but I have a hard time following through.

I know I am not as strong physically as I could be. Hence, I started a weight training program last week. I am publicly committing to practice the skill of being disciplined with this new task, understanding the likely carry-over to other hard-to-do things, one day at a time.

How about you? How can you practice discipline this week, even if in a small, incremental way?


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