From the Bottom of the Bucket

          “Passion and Discipline'

 

I recently attended a talk given by the head basketball coach of a local (NCAA II National Champion) team.   I asked him what were the two values that he tried most to instill in his young athelets.  He answered unequivocally "Passion and  Discipline".  He was obviously fulfilled and his accomplishments speak for themselves, so I took his words to heart.

I began to ponder the practical application of how one would cultivate such values in his or her daily life.  Let's start with Discipline.   I feel that this word describes the ability to attain mastery over your thinking and actions. This self control demonstrates your commitment towards a purpose.  That is why I have advocated defining your Roles and Activities as a step towards identifying what you are committed to.  It is the ability to stay focused on these goals that makes up the degree that one has Discipline or not.   In my case, the  best example I can think of is exercise.  With my health , the only contribution towards improving it I can make is to try to keep my body well conditioned.   Thus I make sure that exercise is part of my Activities.  Believe me, that takes Discipline.

Passion is a different animal.  How do you develop a zeal?  I finally came to the conclusion you don't.  I think that we all have our natural interests and the business of expanding those interests is what the coach was referring to.  In The System, I refer to these as Vigor activities and they are an important because they are the fuel that discipline runs on.  You must first identify what you are passionate about, then measure the amount of resources you are allocating to advance them in your life.  Are they harmonized?

One of my passions is my marriage. I am so fortunate to have my wife, Sandy, who not only is my best friend, but also puts in the time and effort to making our life  better, not an easy task over the past two years.   For Valentine's day, she prepared a special meal and presented it to celebrate this relationship.

I count myself lucky to have such a resource to remind myself (when my Discipline falters) what is important. To be able to call on such a  resource is an invigorating experience. It also inspires me to be the same for her.

My other Passions were illustrated in the painting done for me by a friend.

 

My goal in writing this blog is to remind myself (and the reader) how critical it is to be mindful of these important Activities.   To assure that we spend a little time each day, gaining perspective and ultimately to attach fulfillment to the time you walk this earth. 

 

Until next month, I wish you fulfillment.

 

Bob