The difference between what we have and what we want is in discipline. We either want it bad enough to exercised discipline, or we settle for whatever is available to us. Discipline is a dirty word to a lot of us. The majority of us do not know how to operate under discipline. We say we want something, but only so long as it isn’t an inconvenience for us, or doesn’t require too much work.
Take relationships for example. Most of us would say that we want them, but few of us are willing to put forth the effort it takes to have a good one. We want the payoff without the work. Most people settle for much less than what they want or deserve in relationships because they lack the discipline necessary to be alone. Don’t let your loneliness lower your standards.
We all want the job title, but few want the responsibility that comes with it. We are quick to judge the person that is sitting in the chair when we have no idea what it takes to sit there ourselves. We want the title without working for it and a fat paycheck to go with it, but not the work required to achieve it.
We all want to be in great shape, but we need there to be a magic pill. We don’t actually want to have to work for it. We want to eat donuts all day and see results and it just doesn’t work that way.
Discipline is hard, but so is not having the thing you desire the most. Choose your hard. And might I encourage you to choose the path that will require the most effort? The greater the sacrifice, the greater the payoff. Stop settling for mediocre relationships because you are too lazy to pursue a good one. Life is too short to settle.
