A couple of weeks ago my husband shared a message about exhibiting self-control and he said, "Stop trying to do whatever it is you want, TRAIN!" Wow, that statement shook me to the core. When I think of training I think of basketball legends like Michael Jordan, or Kobe Bryant. Both spent time perfecting their craft before they did anything else. They spent time shooting free throws instead of hanging out with friends. They missed out on some things so that they could be the legends they were. Michael Jordon said it like this, "some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen." I believe we get stuck in our own heads and limited belief system and so we don't even start to train. I can imagine that "try" wasn't even part of the vocabulary of the two greats; they trained.
I often say, just try. Just try, and see what happens. What is the harm in doing that? While there isn't harm in trying, why would you waste your time trying, when you should be training. I'll tell you why I use try, because it is a softer more palatable word. When I use try, there is room for error in that. If I don't give it my all, at least I tried. Overall I am a very competitive person, not with others but with myself. In school, my grades had to not be good, but great! There was no room for mediocrity. I had to work up the corporate ladder because I was full of ambition, and desired to be successful. I worked long hours, I learned new concepts, went to graduate school, I became passionate about business, so that is where I focused. I dealt with good 'ol boys clubs, and walked into rooms I wasn't ready for, because I trained. I was called in when the business was about to be lost, because I had a knack for taking those bad situations, quickly finding a winning solution for their greatest challenge, so we could retain the business. All the while working with men that didn't think I could do it. Time after time, because I didn't try, I trained I was successful. Did I do it right all the time? NO! It was all part of learning. Sitting at tables and listening and understanding what really made the customer tick. Did they care about the bottom line, or was it about the service. I matched and exceeded their work hours. I never went into one of the clients and said I'll try to turn this around, I went in and told them in 30/60 days I would fix the relationships and I did. For me that was success, seeing my customer happy and the relationships restored for future business.
How do you maintain an edge on your competition? Whether you are talking about life or business, you always want to stay ahead of the curve, you want to be leading edge, so how do you maintain that? You continue to train. The key to training, is that you continue to do it, don't stop, and push yourself beyond what is comfortable. When we get comfortable in something, then all of a sudden instead of training we start trying. During this time of being home with everyone 24x7 we have found ways of being comfortable in our new environment. Once we get overly comfortable then we stop training. It becomes such an effort that we just don't do it. What will it take to get you to stop trying and start training? What are you dreaming of? What are you desiring out of life? When will you start training?
When we talk about training, that also brings in a word called discipline. A word that some people don't want to hear, and find almost offensive. Discipling ourselves means that we will have to make some sacrifices. By definition it is instruction or training. Whatever you want to accomplish you have to have discipline to do what it takes to get there. Abraham Lincoln said it like this, "discipline is choosing between what you want now, and what you want most." That helps to put into perspective why training and discipline is so important. I want you to think for a moment, what do you want to accomplish? Have you set a roadmap for how to get there? What if I told you, "your level of success is determined by your level of discipline and perseverance?" (unknown) Once we understand that there is always reward to training and excuses to trying, we can take a different approach to the things we want to do in our lives.
I've shared this example before, but I enjoy writing, however, there are times where it isn't easy for me, I have to really train myself to focus, find something to share, and stick to writing every day or every few days. In continuing to train and stay committed to the process, I have seen growth in me. Once you start training you will have to push yourself, it won't always be comfortable, but you will gain a new perspective and see things differently than before. You will continue to grow, and train harder and in other areas. It's not a race, it's a pace. Find your pace and train. You will be better and accomplish all you want to through the process.
My last question for today. What is stopping you from training? Think about that write it down, then find a solution that will help you to get motivated to do the work necessary to see the end results. If you feel overwhelmed and don't know where to start, or how to take all that you want to do and create a roadmap, maybe a coach is the right solution for you. I would love to talk with you about how coaching can set you up for success.