I recently noticed a disturbing pattern with one of my strong, talented, young clients. He has a pattern of being good for awhile and then just not showing up. Does his homework, gets some clarity and then shows up all out of sorts because a little adversity sets him back.
I asked him to write the root why behind this behavior. I want to know what kinda raw material I’ve got to work with here. He appears to be a talented performer who just doesn’t bring it consistently. Where does this come from, I challenged. What would your high school coach tell me, your previous mentors, or someone with an inside purview reveal?
After a few minutes writing, my client exclaimed the root reason for his inconsistency was a complete lack of discipline. He told me he’s made a habit of living off his immense talent, not his work ethic. He went so far as to tell me a story about one of his former teammates who beat him by simply outworking him. He kinda made his peace with it, which really pisses me off. I posed the following challenging questions to him; feel free to pose them to yourself:
What kinda man you think you’re habituating? You think you can just turn this on and off for the rest of your life and end up with some kinda great work/life/wife? You are burning energy and headed for burnout. Do you see this?
My client told me he is living life and just “going through the motions.” He looked down, back at me, took a deep breath and pronounced, “It’s sad.” Yes, it is. My client is waking up. He’s looking in the mirror and not liking what he sees. Step one toward becoming BTL is always painful. Most humans choose to look away and sleepwalk through life. I reminded my client his admissions are painful and represent progress. I reminded him our purpose together. We awaken, challenge, and together we transform. Waking up, facing your habits, taking the challenge to change, is the only route to transforming your life through your disciplined, new PA.
What you going through, my friend? Actually, what you moving toward? What are you giving your whole heart toward? What are you willing to really live for? Remember, the enemy is a busy life you’re just going through the motions…
BUILT TO LEAD 