Day 62: 22.2 miles/1:20
“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment” ~ Jim Rohn
A big component of the 100 Pedals journey is the commitment I made to ride 100 consecutive days. Accomplishing this requires the focus to get on the bike every single day. As my calendar continues to fill-up, managing my priorities around this commitment is where discipline enters into the equation.
Managing my time and coordinating my other commitments around the most important commitments—100 Pedals—requires discipline.
Having the discipline to organize our priorities, our time, and our energies around those aspects of our goals is how they get accomplished. When we lose focus, get distracted, or lack the discipline to manage to our priorities, momentum and progress get lost. The key to it all is the discipline to stay on track.
I had several conversations lately regarding our choices. Every day we are presented with choices. The choices we make are dependent upon how effectively we have disciplined ourselves to focus on what is important as it relates to our goal. The discipline to stay focused increases the likelihood of our success.
Many years ago, my wife would get up at 4:30 in the morning, drive one hour to work, go the company gym, work out for an hour and then shower, go into the office and work ten hours. Then, she would get in the car and drive 75-90 minutes, in traffic, home. She did this religiously for at least five years. She was gone nearly 14 hours every single work day. Not only was she committed to her job, she was equally committed to the hour in the gym.
One time I asked her how she did that every single day, even in the middle of the cold, dark, snowy Michigan winters. Her answer, “I just don’t give myself a choice.” Actually, she did give herself a choice. And she consistently chose the workout. What she was really demonstrating was the discipline she had established for herself around the importance of a good workout, every single day. That is how goals are accomplished – the discipline to maintain focus on the goals and commitment.
It is not always easy to protect and make time for those aspects of our life that are most important. However, once you have established your goals and priorities around them, the next tool to apply is the discipline to do it. When you maintain your focus and your discipline you will make an uninterrupted journey to accomplishment.
