The Power of Discipline

I regularly train at a local boxing gym in a northern suburb of Melbourne and recently I was fortunate enough to meet an amazing man, Adrian Charter. Now, Adrian comes to the boxing gym to train, just like me. The difference is, I am 31 years old, and Adrian is 72!

I watched Adrian as he was training, early on a Sunday morning, and he was hitting the punching bag harder and quicker than most men in their twenties would! Later on that morning, I had a chat to Adrian because I was very intrigued about his level of discipline.

You see, Adrian was a former boxer whose last professional fight was in 1968, that is well over 40 years ago. Even though he has stopped competing as a boxer, his discipline still makes him stick to a very gruelling training regime.

It simply amazed me as to how a 72 year old man could train so hard, and believe me, boxing is one of the most demanding sports on earth, requiring both aerobic and anaerobic fitness.

What surprised me even more was that a few days earlier, he did some running and he ran for 9 kilometres. He does this on a regular basis. On a personal note, I run almost every morning, and when I do distance running sessions, I average approximately 5 kilometres per running session. So, Adrian certainly challenged my thinking when it comes to my own distance running sessions.

Adrian told me that his discipline was driven by what is in his mind. When I questioned him about how he maintained such discipline, he calmly replied 'It is all in my mind mate!'

So, I stopped and thought about it for a moment, if discipline can drive a 72 year old man to train so hard and enjoy it, could I imagine how discipline could serve every single human being on the face of this planet?
Right at this point, as you read this story, please pause, and ask yourself 'What is my level of discipline?'

Discipline is defined as 'Control gained by obedience.' As a Life Coach and Speaker, I often discuss the subject of taking control of our lives. The question is - can you take control of your life without discipline? I strongly believe that discipline is needed to take control of anything.

Carefully analyse your level of discipline and give it a score or a rating on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 being the lowest score, and 10 being the highest score. Then ask yourself, is this my true level of discipline?

A follow up question would be . . . 'can this be done better?' By asking yourself that question, you will be constantly looking for answers to assist you in raising your level of discipline.

I will be emphatic on the word 'constantly.' It is said that success in any undertaking requires you to constantly keep improving! The same applies to your level of discipline.

Once you have raised ‘the bar’ in terms of your discipline, your next goal or challenge may or will require you to once again improve your level of discipline! Hence, it is important to review and improve your level of discipline on a constant basis.

Spiritual teacher, Sai Baba said that . . . 'Discipline is the mark of intelligent living.' I believe that every intelligent person values the importance of discipline.

Discipline sets you free, free from limitations that hold you back from achieving your goals or being at your best. Adrian is a prime example of how discipline can be used to achieve a goal and in his case, it was staying fit and healthy.

Discipline leads to bigger results and is a purposeful trait to have, and I believe that purposeful traits attract purposeful results! So, if you are to achieve a particular goal in your life, use the power of discipline.
Implement and uphold a level of discipline that will serve you a very positive purpose in achieving your goal, or succeeding in any given aspect.

Just remember, at times discipline may require you to do certain things that may feel far from good or may seem very challenging. If you come across this, keep your focus on your end result and remind yourself that what you are doing through the aid of discipline will only serve you to achieve your goal.

Adrian's wisdom told me that discipline will require us to push ourselves harder. Regardless of how challenging it may feel at the time, the power of discipline, when implemented and applied correctly, will get you to the finishing line, and you will be handsomely rewarded!

It is said that if there is . . . No Pain, there is No Gain. I say, the bigger the challenge, the more our discipline can serve us and the sweeter the taste of success!