March 24, 2021
1 Thought
Nobody simply drifts towards their destination.
A plane needs a pilot with a flight plan.
A car needs a driver with directions.
You need discipline to make it to where you're trying to go. (Share this on Twitter)
They don't overreact to events, succumb to the herd, or leap for enticing–but irrelevant–opportunities. They're capable of immense perseverance, unyielding in their standards yet disciplined enough to not overreach.
The essence of discipline is consistency of action–consistency with values, with long-term goals, with performance standards–displayed over the course of time. Discipline is different from regimentation as well as from hierarchical obedience or adherence to bureaucratic rules. True discipline requires your own critical thinking to reject pressures to conform in ways that are incompatible with your values, performance standards, and long-term aspirations. Being a disciplined leader means having the inner will to do whatever it takes to create a great outcome, no matter how difficult.
Here are two things to consider in becoming more disciplined:
Cultivate a habit of solitude to re-center on your values: There's an incredible amount of noise from the opinions of people we know, information on social media, industry trends, etc. Make it a habit to regularly get away and remember why you do what you do and why you believe what you believe.
Allow your goals and plans to be challenged: Being disciplined is different from being stubborn. Stubbornness refuses to allow other perspectives or viewpoints to be heard. Being disciplined means gathering data, perspectives, ideas, and thoughts to challenge whether or not a plan or goal is really the right thing to be aiming at.
1 Resource
Jim Collins on critical thinking:
"Social psychology research indicates that at times of uncertainty, most people look to other people–authority figures, peers, group norms–for their primary cues about how to proceed. [Disciplined people], in contrast, do not look to conventional wisdom, nor do they primarily look to what other people do. They look primarily to empirical evidence...The point here is not to be contrary and independent just for the sake of being contrary and independent. The point is to be more empirical to buttress your mental independence and validate your creative instincts. By "empirical," we mean relying upon direct observation, conducting practical experiments, and/or engaging directly with evidence rather than relying upon opinion, whim, conventional wisdom, authority, or untested ideas."
Source: Great by Choice
1 Question
Where are you trying to go in life and what's the gap between there and where you are now?