“In reading the lives of great men, I have found that the first victory they won was over themselves…self-discipline with all of them came first.”

—President Harry Truman

Before you delete this email, stay with me for a moment. Discipline is such an ugly word isn’t it? There aren’t very many sweet connotations that come with that word. In the Greek, it means to “get a grip on oneself.”  That’s true,  because the hardest person that I ever have to lead is me.  There’s great value and return by being disciplined.

I want to challenge you today to look at discipline differently. How about we look at anticipation rather than discipline. This is not my idea. I heard this concept on a mentoring call and I thought it revolutionary. There’s a big difference in getting up early not because of discipline, but because of anticipation. Thinking of it in those terms is a game changer. It’s a different mindset to arise in the morning anticipating what can be, rather than disciplining myself so I can be successful. Are we anticipating what can happen because we’re disciplined, or are we disciplined because of what we want to happen?  It’s an ever so slight change, but small actions create great change.

I went to a networking group this morning and two gentlemen shared at different times why they became business owners. One gentleman wanted the flexibility to be able to spend time with his wife and children. The other was creating income because his passion was pouring his life into the youth in his community. These goals are what got these gentlemen up in the morning. Their excitement was contagious when they shared these inner desires.

I found this to be true in January when I knew I was going to transition out of my job and into my own business of helping individuals and businesses reach their full potential. The need to set my alarm clock for 5:00 am disappeared. I began to wake up close to that time every morning anticipating the impact that I could have by helping businesses and individuals realize their full potential.

How do we develop an attitude of anticipation? I believe we need to remind ourselves why we are doing what we are doing? Are we working so hard for someone else’s dream? I think not. We are working so we can have the things that we want. We are working so hard so we can have the life we desire.

When we are tempted to say those hurtful words, anticipate what the relationship will be like in the future if we don’t. Do we really need to be right?  When we don’t feel like working out, think about how much fun it will be to have the energy to play with your grand-kids, or just live a fuller life.  Every time we make the choice to take steps in the direction of our goals, we get stronger.  We develop better habits. We also find it’s not so hard to make that choice the next time.

What is your particular struggle?  Get excited about who you will become and what you will be able to do and have by moving forward.

By thinking long term, anticipating what we will gain from moving toward our goals and dreams, discipline doesn’t sound so bad after all.

Typed with anticipation,