Discipline, Discomfort, And Discovering Strength
Regret kills the spirit. It’s like the old saying goes we will regret the things we don’t do more than the things we do. Sure you can make the argument that bad decisions in your life were decisions that you had rather not made, but had you never made them you would never learn, you would never understand correct alternatives, and you wouldn’t be able to advance in your life anywhere forward than your current standing.
You see regret is something that seeds in quietly and doesn’t rear its ugly head until you reach a point in your life where life reveals to you the realization that the opportunity that you walked away from was the biggest mistake of all. You can’t avoid it, it’s life.
Discipline
To avoid regret we must be disciplined. Over the past year I’ve had to personally endure some difficult life changes. Because of this I realized that I had to be disciplined in my pursuit of my life goals more than ever before.
I went through some very difficult personal life challenges and started a new business venture that has tested me at every corner. It has been scary. There’s been lots of disappointment and frustration. There’s been many sleepless and lonely nights. It’s real life. I understand other people have had their challenges, but I am merely discussing how I’ve dealt with mine.
Regardless of all of this I told myself that all of these “life setbacks” were just noise and that I had to be disciplined and focused on the main goals. I had to be focused on the goals that were going to make the difference in my life.
Even as a professional strength coach I doubled and tripled down on my own training to help cement my focus and discipline. I got harder mentally and physically and I turned around and went to work like a machine. I don’t want to sound selfish, because I don’t see it that way. It wasn’t a selfish pursuit, it was a necessary pursuit.
Discomfort
The point of this is that when I got even more disciplined I realized that I had to get comfortable with being very uncomfortable. Believe me this is a statement, or credo that I have truly lived by for the past 7 to 9 months.
This uncomfortable lifestyle of isolation is something that I’ve gotten comfortable with and it’s gone so far now that if I do start to relax and get comfortable then I truly get uncomfortable, if that makes any sense at all?
This is by no means a pounding the chest scenario. This is about dealing with life and working to rise above adversity. I’m only pointing this out to say that this discipline and this uncomfortable lifestyle that I have imposed on myself has forced me to stay the path only driving me forward.
When life gets challenging that is discomfort, therefore the method of dealing with discomfort is to work and discipline oneself to get really comfortable with an uncomfortable environment.
I’ll elaborate on this a bit further. In addition to being challenged by the unforseen obstacles that the challenging journey of life has thrown in my direction for the past year I have made sure to impose other certain discomforts on myself. These have been calculated.
Some of these include, but are not limited to the following:
-I haven’t used the heat once this winter. My home averages about 50-55 degrees.
-I worked 48 days straight without so much as a so-called day off. This momentum continues and the streak ONLY has been disrupted by holidays and family related events.
-Eating lean and green 7 days a week without a single “cheat” day for 4 ½ months. Once again this is still consistent, but the first disruption took place 4 ½ months in.
-No female companionship for 6 months and going. This is largely because of the life challenges I’ve gone through having to adjust and also realizing there isn’t anyone at the moment (although it may change) that is deserving of my time and attention.
-Forcing myself to train in miserable environments consisting of hot, cold, dark, and other less than ideal climate conditions.
(Below in the photo my thermostat reads 50 degrees. This is the temperature of my residence. It falls in line with the first imposed discomfort I listed above. The truth is the temperature may be even colder, but the 50 degree measure is as low as the device registers.)
Discovering Strength
There are others that I won’t get into, but the point here is that there are constant variables that can be stripped away from all of us at any point. I’m not a pessimist, or a gloom and doom type of individual, but I do recognize reality.
The life of comfort with air conditioning, heat, running water, readily available food, and even relationships is only a flip of the switch from being stripped away. It could all be gone tomorrow.
This is why I have detached myself from several of the above things I’ve mentioned here regarding what could be gone tomorrow. I’m grateful for what I have. I’m grateful for all of it, but I’ve been on a personal journey for months detaching myself to an extent to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
The thing about this adjustment of detachment is that I made a profound discovery. I discovered that getting tuned into this method is the true strength. I’m not talking about just sweating in the weight room either. I’m talking about mentally and spiritually getting to a point that I don’t care whether anyone joins me on the journey, or not.
The best analogy I can come up with is that a comet doesn’t back up, or slow down on it’s journey through space. It charges along with unyielding momentum and passes every destination. It will not stop until it’s life force has been depleted.
Again I’m not a pessimist. I get cynicism, but I fight against it. It’s takes a lot of work, but I do fight it. The truth is though people will do what in the hell they want. Colleagues, friends, family, and significant others will lie, cheat, steal, and live out their own existence. They will leave and go do what they want.
The difference here is I have accepted that I have my path and that I will not yield on it. It is mine and mine to travel. You might read this and decide that I’m crazy. You may pass such a judgement, but at the same time you know what I’m saying is the truth. The truth is a hard pill to swallow and if you think I’m extreme you are probably very comfortable with the comfort of your surroundings.
If this is true for you all that I would suggest is to be cautious. I’m NOT saying to live in fear, but don’t let go of reality. Don’t allow your resiliency to soften should an unforseen event occur. Don’t allow the blade to dull. That is when doubt will creep in. That is when regret will creep in and remember…regret is a what kills the spirit.
For the most part I never have really thought about what people thought of me. Good or bad, I’ve never been an individual that worried about what people may say behind my back.
I’ve always just tried to look ahead. However, I walked into this journey and out of genuine curiosity (no more and no less) I wonder what others may think of this type of adjustment to the circumstances. I’m sure there are some of you on a similar journey that have made similar decisions.
If you are in such a storm keep pushing. Keep fighting forward. Keep your optimism and don’t allow anyone to soften or distract you. It’s ok to protect yourself because if you are in a stronger position to protect yourself then you are in a better place to help others should the need arise.
Discover your strength through discipline and discomfort. If no one else believes in you then believe in yourself. That is TRUE strength. Stay strong. Be better. Live and train smart.
Related Articles:
Devolving Strength: The Lost Meaning Of Earning
Overcome The Weakness Epidemic
The Mental Edge: Beating The Doubt Monster & Blazing Your Own Trail
Embracing Discipline To Overcome Your Fears
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