“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.”
– Jim Rohn
This quote by Jim Rohn is extremely profound, and speaks to a success mechanism that is vital to understand if you really want to turn your dreams into goals, and accomplish those goals in the real world.
Here’s the thing.
Dreaming is only half of the equation.
In order to make your dreams a reality, at some point, it’s in your best interest to turn those dreams into a set of written goals—and then work to actualize those goals in the real, physical world.
This is the roadmap to success in life.
This is how I was able to achieve success for myself in life, and how my students do the same.
But in this quote, Jim Rohn reveals one fundamental secret to making all of this work.
If you want to achieve your goals and make your dreams come true in life, then this secret ingredient is absolutely necessary.
What is the secret ingredient?
Discipline.
Discipline Is Powerful And Crucial
Discipline is best defined as the determination to continue to work consistently over time; pushing yourself to succeed despite difficulties, setbacks, and challenges.
The literal definition of the word, as given by Dictionary.com, is as follows:
“Training to act in accordance with rules; drill: an activity, exercise, or regimen that develops or improves a skill; training.”
Discipline is what you’re accomplishing when you commit to doing 100 situps every day, and actually show up to successfully perform the exercises.
Discipline is what you’re doing when you commit to something and continue to consistently perform that function, despite the difficulties you may face or the feeling of fatigue you may feel along the way.
The Number One Thing Standing Between Most People And Success Is Hard Work
The truth of the matter is that it takes hard work to achieve success.
It’s hard work to turn your dreams into goals, and to then manifest those goals into reality.
By nature, humans see work as difficult.
In fact, if given the choice, the vast majority of humans, if they were being completely honest, would probably rather sit down, relax, and sip on a drink than roll up their sleeves and sweat for hours of the day while performing difficult tasks.
This really speaks to our evolutionary biology.
As mammals, we are hardwired to conserve calories.
This means that strictly from a biological perspective, our default setting is to not really strive too much for anything unless it’s needed for our survival so that we can conserve our energy for crucial survival tasks.
For thousands of years, this is what our brains classified as ‘work’. We would hunt, gather, and build what was needed for survival—and there was a strong and direct incentive to perform these functions.
Whereas, nowadays, it’s sometimes difficult to get and stay motivated—because we sometimes don’t see how our work directly correlates with the meaning of our survival.
This is why discipline is difficult. But it’s also why it gives you a massive competitive edge.
However, that’s not all there is to it either.
The Human Pursuit For Meaning
Humans are also known for another interesting behavioral anomaly.
We are constantly searching for meaning in life.
You could say that this makes us unique in the animal kingdom.
To our knowledge, there aren’t very many creatures who so enthusiastically grapple with the question of the greater purpose behind their existence.
And so, this creates an interesting dynamic within us as humans.
We have the capacity to dream big dreams.
And some of us are indwelled with an incessant drive to see those dreams brought to fruition.
And so, this can inspire and motivate us to work—even though work isn’t necessarily the ‘most fun’ thing to do.
This is likely why you’re reading this post, and why you’re actively engaged in the pursuit of knowledge—to help you further your goals and create the life you want for yourself.
The Definition Of Work
This is another interesting thing to note about humans that makes us different from most creatures on the planet.
At some point in our evolution, we discovered that we have the ability to bargain with the future, and endure some of the future’s suffering now as opposed to later.
This is literally the definition of work:
To make a bargain with the future wherein we suffer a little bit today (sweating and working hard to plant grain, trap animals, smoke/preserve meat, etc.) so that tomorrow, if snow covers the fields and the animals all move on for a while, we’ll still have something to eat.
Now, humans aren’t the only species to do this.
Bees store up honey, of course—and bears put on a thick layer of fat to prepare for hibernation.
But humans are also unique in that, like most things we do, our concept of work is a lot more complicated and complex.
But see, here’s the thing.
In order to achieve goals, it’s in our best interest to work consistently over prolonged periods of time, on a daily basis, in the pursuit of those goals.
Of course, this also requires a plan of action.
Performing work alone isn’t enough.
Picking up a stone and walking around in circles with it is technically work—but it likely won’t bring you any closer to achieving your plan or purpose in life, despite the toiling, the sweat, and the exertion you’ll experience as a result.
The work has to be specific and focused on what needs to be accomplished.
And we also need to continue showing up consistently until we’ve managed to check those goals off of our to-do list.
And this speaks to discipline.
It’s in our best interest to be disciplined enough to make a plan, disciplined enough to continue to consistently work on that plan, and disciplined enough to check off our goals one at a time as we follow the map that leads us to the success we desire in the future.
How To Get Started On The Path To Success
If you want to get started on the path to success, here are some common-sense steps that you can follow.
Step one: Figure out what you want in life.
Step two: Make a plan of action and write it down.
Need a bit of help getting started with goals? Download my weekly goal-setting sheet, print out a few, and give it a try.
You can also sign up for my email list to get my free Goal-Setting Essentials Starter Kit.
Step three: Break your plan down into short, medium, and long-term goals. (I recommend using SMART goals for this.)
Step four: Determine how much work (and what kind of work) you need to perform every day to reach your goals.
Step five: Take a page from Jim Rohn’s playbook, and enact discipline to help you bridge the gap between goals and accomplishment.
In other words:
Work hard, stick with it, and stay consistent.
Step six: Don’t give up.
Step Seven: Review, revise, and adapt.
Conclusion
There you have it.
Some crucial thoughts on the subject of how discipline acts as the bridge between goals and accomplishment, and a 7-step plan to help you get started on the path to success today.
Hopefully, this post has helped you to understand some vital and crucial principles of success.
Now, it’s time to get to work.
You have what it takes.
So start writing down those goals, making a plan, and taking action.
You can have whatever kind of life you want, as long as you’re willing to do the work.
Best wishes…
Jay O’Donnell