Regret is one of those useless emotions. It’s mourning something you failed to do or get. You can’t change the outcome. It’s a done deal. So, why waste your energy on the burden and pain of regret?
Discipline delivers pain, but with purpose. You push yourself to do those things that you’d rather avoid. You get up early and go for a run when you’d rather stay in bed. You say “no” to that second helping of pasta or a slice of three-layer chocolate cake because you know you’ll regret it later. So, to avoid that wasted emotion of regret, you fight off the temptation that could take you there.
Over a century ago, Albert Hubbard defined discipline as, “the ability to make yourself do the things you should do, when you should do them, whether you feel like it or not.”
That’s the inherent pain in discipline. You fight against your own urges. Your brain wages an intellectual battle between what you “want” and what you “should do”.
Discipline drives you to keep working on a report because, in your heart, you know you can do better. Accepting something as “good enough” is a compromise you’re not willing to make.
In sales, discipline is the reason you pursue your leads with more consistency and confidence. You don’t give up after a few tries.
Self-discipline guides you to push harder toward achieving a desirable outcome. At the other side of discipline is accomplishment, while regret only brings self-doubt.
When it comes to making tough choices, you will reside in one of two pain zones: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. Discipline is like labor pain. It lasts for a short while but then gives you a lasting joy.
Regret is a burden. Nothing more.
Put them on a scale. Discipline can be measured in ounces. Regret weighs a ton.
Myers Barnes is America’s favorite new home sales trainer, author, speaker and consultant. For more information, please visit www.myersbarnes.com.
