There is a very true reality in achieving a goal, “the goal will not achieve itself”. In order to achieve or reach a desired destination you must have progress. Consistent progress is created through discipline. Consistent discipline is created by focus. Consistent focus is created by keeping your goal ever before you.
If you lose sight of your goal, you will lose sight of the need for discipline. Without discipline you will have no progress. And with no progress you will have no achievement.
The discipline of consistently showing up based on commitment instead of how you feel, will over time create achievement. Depending on the size of your goal achievement can take a long time to create. The length of time necessitates constant focus on what you are working to achieve and why you are working to achieve it. Continually reviewing and reminding yourself on what you are trying to achieve helps to keep the effort you take pointed in the right direction. Remembering why you want to achieve the goal helps to motivate and encourage the consistent pursuit.
My son is in third grade and every week for homework he has a list of twenty spelling words. In order to have the words memorized for the test on Friday we need to execute our plan with discipline. Every morning at 8:15 we go in the basement and work on memorizing five words. There are days like today where my son does not feel like working on the words. If we take a day off however we will fail to memorize all the words and therefore fail to reach our goal of passing the test. So whether or not we feel like it, we memorize the five words. We show up and work through the whining and crying and memorize the words.
After fifteen minutes of spelling we read for fifteen minutes. We are reading a book by Jocko Willink called “Way of the Warrior Kid”. There is a kid who was struggling at school and over the summer his uncle Jake comes and stays with him and his mom. Uncle Jake was a Navy Seal and helps Marc his nephew overcome his struggles through discipline and training in the areas he struggles in.
One of the chapters was on discipline, specifically the difference between imposed discipline and self discipline. After we read the chapter we reviewed the difference between each of the disciplines. Imposed discipline meaning someone else tells you what to do and when to do it. And self discipline meaning you show up without anyone needing to tell you what to do. Later that day after school my son comes down to the basement where I was working out and he starts practicing his spelling words all by himself. Not only was our discipline helping us reach our goals of memorizing words and reading, it was also helping us grow in character.
Sometimes discipline feels like a grind, but do it anyway. The goal is worth the effort. Remember what you are working towards and why you are working towards it and reach your desired destination on purpose. Don’t sit around and hope for it. Create it.