Discipline

Discipline is a battle that you win and lose every day

Think back to your school days; there used to be this one big exam at the end of the year. If you passed, you got promoted and if you failed you got left behind.

It gave you time to prepare and plan. You got the opportunity to perfect yourself. Life rarely affords you that luxury.

I have come across several people whose greatest achievements in life are academic. They look at life as a series of one-off tests. The fact that the year-end appraisal reinforces this - reflects the catastrophic state of Human Resource Management in organisations.

Their entire focus will be that one launch. That one product. That one event. But what happens after the launch? You still have to show up every day; excel every day. No business was a success because of the phenomenal launch. Invariably nobody will remember the launch - the day after. Succeeding often takes continuous and consistent work to keep delivering.

Nobody ever got fit because they started workouts. You need to keep working out; every day. Just because you did your workout today guarantees nothing for tomorrow. You must get up again and show up again. You get to stay in good shape till such time that you have it in you to keep showing up. It has to become a part of you.

Sportspeople show up and practice every day; so that when it matters, they are able to give it their best. In business, you show up every day to ensure that you and your organisation are doing splendid work and delivering the very best. To be great at anything, you need to show up and do whatever needs to be done every day. We call showing up every day - Discipline.

Discipline is a battle you win or lose every day.