The Glue That Holds Everything Together

Over the last few weeks, we’ve talked about how we define the idea of “hard work” within The Winning Tools organization and my hope is that you have been able to take a deeper look at the way you’re committing to hard work in your own life. Today, we are diving into the last of the three Winning Tools principles – Discipline. 

There’s a reason we are covering this one last – and it’s because it’s the glue that holds them all together. As you commit to rigorous honesty and the hard work that it takes to grow, both personally and professionally, you’ll start to create momentum. Discipline is the key to sustaining it. I want you to envision a huge, heavy boulder sitting at the top of a tall hill. It takes so much energy and effort to get something that big and heavy moving (insert honesty and hard work here!), but once it’s rolling downhill, it’s got momentum. Discipline is the thing that sustains the momentum, so much so that you could just keep it rolling with the touch of a finger. 

I have a question for you. Why is there seemingly a list (big or small) of things you’ve struggled to take action on? I have a theory. I think fear gets in the way for many of us high-achievers. Fear might sound like a strange concept to connect to discipline, but I actually think it makes a lot of sense. We put pressure on ourselves to be perfect, to know all of the answers, to have it all figured out, when so often, that’s impossible. But nevertheless, we can stay stuck in fear-paralysis. 

Discipline says to you, “Hey, you’ve committed to sustaining the momentum you’ve created through getting honest with yourself and working hard to create a result. Now, we’ve got to continue to show up day after day and keep the coals burning through staying disciplined to our commitment.”

So how do we respond? We respond to fear with courage. What is courage? It is the ability to do something that frightens you. And courage takes discipline. All throughout our lives, we are going to be facing fears. We can either choose paralysis and inaction that turns to laziness, or we can choose to be disciplined in courage. Choosing courage when we face fear is a commitment, and one that will take a high level of discipline from here on out. 

Something to think on this week: Where is fear showing up for you right now? List three actions you can take this week as you commit to using The Winning Tool of Discipline.