"Discipline defines destiny."
The first tool in the bag is discipline. Do what we must today to enable what we want tomorrow. We go from a chair master to runner not by thinking but by doing.
Proficiency at playing or coaching takes time. Remember, "the only short cut to excellence is mentoring." But if we don't have a mentor, become our own coach.
1. Build better habits. Make it easier to follow through on good habits and to avoid less productive ones. Take your workout gear to work. At Bethesda Naval, admins told us NOT to jog during lunch, as patients complained about appointment availability. At Walter Reed, the "norm" was jogging five miles at lunch. "Doc, why aren't you running?"
James Clear reminds us in Atomic Habits that it takes weeks to imprint a habit. He advises us, "don't miss twice" when establishing a new habit.
In the 80s, we learned the "Bruce Jenner protocol" for patients with lung disease. Exercise (training), rest (sleep), diet (nutrition), supplements (medication), and motivation (goal setting, something to live for). What's your why?
Question: What am I doing today to get where I want to be in five years?
2. Do 5 more. You want to excel. Spend more time reading, watching film, studying the game, exercising. Read five more pages. Watch five more clips. Do five more sprints. Invest 5 minutes at the end of practice in your "cleaner" game winners. Invest 5 minutes in "emergency shots" - fallaways, double pumps, end-of-clock shots. Learn five new things each day. Self-doubt fuels work. Start small but know, "Champions do extra."
Question: what 'unrequired work' am I doing today?
3. Develop a better story. Learn from The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Joseph Campbell writes, "A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man."
Geno Auriemma wrote a story of eleven national titles as UCONN coach. But he also wrote of burn scars obtained as a two year-old in Northern Italy, as he rolled too close to the fire the children slept near to stay warm. Life leaves scars.
4. Don't cut corners. The UCONN women jogged two laps at the start of practice. Nobody cut a corner. Discipline requires us not to skip steps. Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich says, "pound the rock" because if it takes 100 hits to break it, you have to deliver 100 blows.
Question: did I cut corners today?
5. "Winners are trackers." Darren Hardy's The Compound Effect informs the value of measuring progress. How often do I work out? How many free throws did I make of the hundred I took (I used graph paper back in the day)? Although it won't always be great, Don Miguel Ruiz reminds us, "Always do your best."
Kevin Eastman reads two hours a day. Billionaire Steve Forbes reads a minimum of fifty pages. Coach George Raveling is a prodigious reader as are Michael Neighbors, Steve Kerr, and Gregg Popovich. Invest in ourselves and track progress.
Question: did I make any progress today objectively tracking?
Discipline feeds ownership of success...for ourselves and our 'children'.
Summary:
- Build better habits.
- Do 5 more.
- Write a better story.
- Don't cut corners.
- "Winners are trackers."
Lagniappe. Watch film every day. This Basketball Immersion video shows a litany of techniques to create space (e.g. gaps), increase separation (e.g. pindowns from 5 out), occupy the help (e.g. weakside pindowns). Coach K says, "basketball is about making plays not running plays."
