Trent Shelton said it best: “Discipline is getting good at saying NO to the things that do not move you toward your YES”.
With a Champion’s Mentality, you will choose to give up some things that you are used to having. You will choose to do some things that you are not used to because it is going to lead to something greater. I learned this while in the New Life Program at the Boise Rescue Mission. Going into it, I was engulfed in many vices that lead to imminent downfall. Discipline is a must for success. It sure was not easy, but with time, prayer, patience, and some trial and error, your life will be much different. It took me a year in the program to learn this. Seven years later, I can say my life has changed for the better in many ways I never thought possible.
I read “Safe People” by Dr Cloud and Dr. Townsend. I learned who you surround yourself with is what you will become. “Show me your friends and I will show you your future.” I tell this to my two kids all the time. It is cliche, but true nonetheless. Evaluate your circle of people. If they do not inspire you to become better, you do not have a circle, you have a cage.
So how do you start… Trent Shelton gives some good advice:
- Remove the bad seeds. In order to level up, you have to subtract your distractions, and you know what those are. Failure to remove the root issues and dig up those bad seeds will affect you negatively. It is like cancer. In sports we used to say that if you keep even the smallest cancer on the team—a person who is negative, a person who is always complaining—then that cancer is going to spread. It is the same thing for your life. Get the mindsets away from you that do not serve and help you. Remove the people from your life who do not add value to your life. Sometimes the best way to add to your life is to subtract from it.
- Plant new seeds. Become intentional about your life. Start putting yourself in the right environments. Develop better daily habits and routines.
- Lastly, water those seeds. Recruit the mindsets that make you better. I purposely put myself in environments where I know that I am the least accomplished. Because I know that if I am in an environment where I am the least accomplished, I will have no choice but to grow. If there is someone that is at a higher fitness level, I make sure to spend time around that person. If there is somebody better at business than me, I spend time around that person. If there is somebody who has built a family structure that I admire, I spend time around that person.
This has also applied to my coaching as well. I coach young athletes and I need to help them “plant seeds” that will allow them to grow. Do you have the discipline to establish a champion’s mindset?