Spartan Series #19 “We Do Today What They won’t, So Tomorrow We Accomplish What They Can’t”—The Rock

Putting this into play as a maxim for life has everything to do with “DISCIPLINE.”  My son, Sam Knuth, brought me a stupendous book entitled “Discipline Equals Freedom” by Jocko Willink.  On page 26 he says this about “DISCIPLINE,”  “It starts with waking up early……But that is just the beginning;  ….. It is working out, every day, making yourself stronger and faster and more flexible and healthier.  It is eating the right foods, to fuel your system correctly.  It is disciplining your emotions, so you can make good decisions. It is about having the discipline to control your ego, so it doesn’t get out of hand and control you. Discipline is about facing your fears so you can conquer them.  Discipline means taking the hard road — the up hill road.  Discipline calls for strength and fortitude and “WILL.”  It won’t accept weakness.  it won’t tolerate a breakdown in will.  Discipline is your best friend.  it will take care of you like nothing else can.  Most important, discipline will put you on the path to FREEDOM.”

Wow, this is a great description of what “DISCIPLINE” is and what it can do for you.  But, let’s discuss this a bit more.

First, we have to decide on a goal or objective.  This step alone can absorb us completely as we consider all the ramifications of selecting the thing that we want and are willing to sacrifice for to attain.  I recommend getting alone and thinking and writing about the goal.  Describe it great detail and insert all that it will require to have.  Ruminate on it.  Think about it always.  Pray about it.  Make it a part of our very being.  Having what you want will/may take all that we can bring to the fight to have it.  Ultimately, we have to decide that the goal is worth it.

Next, we discipline ourselves to do the things that are required to have the goal as our own.  We arrange our entire lives, if necessary, around the idea of accomplishing the goal.  I call this the principle of  “Asymmetrical Living.”  This simply means that what we want will demand all that we are.  There will be little to no balance in our lives as we pursue the goal that we have set before ourselves.  All that we do flows toward the accomplishment of the stated trophy. In bodybuilding, as in life, disciplining ourselves to study, to physically perform, to focus on the end goal requires far more than just doing the right thing.  It will demand a heavy bit of mental strength, emotional stability, and a setting aside of our ego.

We get up in the morning with an attitude that says, “We can do it and we can have it.”  We get our feet on the floor and we begin the act of living to win.  We shower, we shave, we put on fresh clothes, we eat breakfast.  Our day has begun and our every thought is on the thing we want the most.  We discipline ourselves to stick to the task at hand that contributes to a small degree toward the attainment of the goal.  Nothing we do throughout our day is wasted.  All things are there for our using to move us forward.

Let me reiterate that the exercise of personal discipline will lay the foundation to help us build personal strength and know how.  There is no short cut and there is no other way.  We have to embrace our discipline as the taskmaster that it is and that we are using it to win.  We cannot tolerate to any degree of breakdown of our will and personal discipline will keep us strong and on task.  Any other path we choose will put us in bondage to things that are meaningless and totally unrelated to the direction we set for ourselves.  However, personal discipline and perseverance will take us to our end goal and this end goal is truly defined as “FREEDOM.”

As noted in the title of this article, “We Do Today What They won’t, So Tomorrow We Accomplish What They Can’t.” This is the focus of discipline in my world of bodybuilding.  I have to assume that my competition is working very hard to beat me.  I must, in turn, be willing to do the hard things as they present themselves TODAY.  I have to think that what I am doing today is not what my competition is willing to do so I do it ASAP and harder than they are willing to work.  I do it now.  I have to know that if I outwork my competition by disciplining myself to do the really hard stuff today that I will be in a position to watch them fail because they cannot do what they failed to train for yesterday.

Life is like that.  We have to be willing to do the hard stuff so we can compete better, especially against those who choose an easier path.

In closing, please note that if there was an easier way to do something then everyone would be doing it.  What sets us apart is our willingness to do the hard stuff.  If we are disciplined to do the hard stuff then we will learn “THE ART OF WINNING.”