Always do the right things………not the easy things. Self discipline is the single biggest contributor to you achieving a life of excellence. It allows you to make choices, it helps you to hold your own feet to the fire when things have to get done, and it builds the capacity to do the right things, not the easy ones. Over time many people develop their own “short cuts.” They manage the volume of email that comes to them by only responding to the things that are important to them, they give their best energy to their work and tell themselves they have no time for exercise or fun. They schedule everybody else, but struggle to schedule themselves in their own calendars.
Thought leadership has taught us…..”look at your calendar, and you’ll see your priorities.” The problem arises when you don’t see yourself as a priority in your own life. When taking care of yourself has fallen off the radar…..and you find yourself exhausted, and unable to exercise, socialize, and have fun. You have achieved nothing if every waking hour goes into your work, and the best of you is left with your colleagues, not your family and friends. So to do the right thing…..think about the things you no longer want to do in order to protect your precious energy and to honour your values. Schedule yourself me time……and you will gradually raise your standards for what you will and will not tolerate in your life.
Robin Sharma said “Every time you fail to do the right thing, you fuel the habit of doing the wrong thing. And this little principle applies throughout your life. Every time you forget to say thank you to someone, you have actually taken action to build the habit of never saying thank you. Every time you do not return a phone call promptly, you have taken a step to develop the habit of never returning phone calls on time. Every time you tell a child that you don’t have time, you build the habit of never having time for them. The little things are the big things, and the quality of success you will experience in your life ultimately depends upon the tiny choices you make every minute of every hour of every day.”