Every time you say yes to a goal or objective, you say not many more. Every prize has its price. The prize is the yes; the price is the no. Igor Gorin, the noted Ukrainian-American baritone, told of his early days studying voice. He loved to smoke a pipe, but one day his professor said, "Igor, you will have to make up your mind whether you are going to be a great singer, or a great pipe-smoker, you cannot be both." So the pipe went.
Delayed gratification
M. Scott Peck, M.D., author of the best-seller The Road Less Traveled, describes this tool of discipline as "a process of scheduling the pain and pleasure of life in such a way as to enhance the pleasure by meeting and experiencing the pain first and getting it over with."
This might involve routine daily decisions—something as simple as skipping a favorite late-night TV show and getting to bed early, to be wide awake for a meeting the next morning. Or it might involve longer-term resolves. A young widow with three children decided to invest her insurance settlement in a college education for herself. She considered the realities of a tight budget and little free time, but these seemed small sacrifices in return for the doors that a degree would open. Today she is a highly paid financial consultant.
The secret of such commitment is getting past the drudgery and seeing the delight. "The fact is that many worthwhile endeavors aren't fun," says syndicated radio and TV commentator Mort Crim, "True, all work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy. But trying to turn everything we do into play makes for terrible frustrations, because life—even the most rewarding one —includes circumstances that aren't fun at all. I like my job as a journalist. It's personally satisfying, bit it isn't always fun."
Achieving a balance
Never confuse discipline with rigidity. Perfection is not the aim; rather, strive for the peace of mind that comes from being in charge of yourself.