Conscious Leadership – The Power of Discipline: Navigating Feelings in the Pursuit of Goals

In this Podcast transcript, Chris explores the importance of discipline and commitment in achieving long-term success, emphasising that routines and schedules help manage feelings, which can make actions unpredictable. The speaker shares personal anecdotes, including racing a Mark 1 Cortina and the disciplined training of an Olympian, highlighting how unchecked feelings can derail ambitions and lead to regret. They stress the necessity of maintaining commitments despite fluctuating emotions to prevent short-term feelings from impacting long-term results. The final section reinforces this message by noting that feelings should not dominate actions, and the speaker concludes with a reflection on the beauty of consistency and commitment.

Introduction

Good morning, good afternoon, wherever you are. Today, we’re up here on a perfectly calm day, hardly a breath of wind. It’s freezing cold, but we’re on Ben Buckler again at my office. Today, we’re going to discuss feelings. Feelings, nothing more than feelings, trying to forget my feelings of love. Okay, Walker, don’t give up your day job.

The Role of Goals, Routines, and Discipline

We advocate for goals, routines, disciplines, schedules, time management, and commitments not because they make you more productive. Productivity is subjective and varies from person to person. A person who manages their time and a person who doesn’t will experience time differently. A person who has goals will experience life differently compared to someone who doesn’t. However, the presence of goals, whether written down or not, creates a commitment that influences one’s actions and outcomes.

Feelings vs. Discipline

Why are these disciplines advocated so frequently? The answer is feelings. When feelings dictate your actions, you become unpredictable, unreliable, and often disenchanted. You might want to be married one day and not the next, but a contract holds you bound. You might want to go to the gym one day and not the next, but your self-commitment keeps you going. Feelings of anger, love, frustration, and joy come and go, but contracts and commitments provide stability.

The Impact of Feelings on Behaviour

Dealing with varied feelings can be complicated. If feelings dictate behaviour, it becomes challenging to rationalise actions. This was evident in my life when I was part of a university car club racing a Mark 1 Cortina. Despite my discipline, investment, and practice, feelings of frustration and disappointment took over. On one occasion, my feelings overshadowed my discipline, leading to a humiliating experience in a rally race where I left the handbrake on for the entire circuit. This incident revealed that despite my commitment, deep down, I was just play-acting as a racer.

The Consequence of Allowing Feelings to Overpower Discipline

Feelings of humiliation, disappointment, and embarrassment can overwhelm discipline and commitment. This realisation led to the end of my racing ambitions. The car that once symbolised my dreams became a reminder of my failures and eventually went to the rubbish. It’s crucial to understand that while feelings can motivate actions, they can also derail long-term goals if not managed properly.

The Importance of Managing Feelings for Long-Term Success

Feelings are your best friend when they align with your goals. If you feel good about something, you’ll do more of it. If you feel bad, you’ll do less. Discipline, schedules, and commitments help prevent short-term feelings from influencing long-term results. During my racing career, despite many embarrassing moments, discipline kept me going. However, when feelings became too overwhelming, they usurped my ambitions and led to my eventual withdrawal from racing.

The Story of an Olympian: Discipline vs. Feelings

A friend of mine, an Olympian who competed in the Los Angeles Olympics in a K1 kayak, exemplified the power of discipline. For four years, he trained tirelessly, rarely missing a session. His discipline led him to the final in the K4 event. However, leading up to the Sydney Olympics, feelings of comfort and entitlement led him to miss more training sessions. Ultimately, he missed selection by one-thousandth of a second, a tiny margin he attributed to those missed training days.

Lessons Learned from the Olympian’s Journey

Despite his rigorous discipline, his feelings eventually overshadowed his commitment. After missing the Sydney Olympics, he struggled with regret and discontent, realising that his feelings had dominated his discipline. This story highlights the delicate balance between feelings and discipline. While feelings can provide short-term satisfaction, discipline ensures long-term success.