Discipline Bridge

Discipline Bridge

LEADERS DON’T BUILD CHARACTER WITHOUT CROSSING THE BRIDGE OF DISCIPLINE. PERSONAL DISCIPLINE IS LIKE A BRIDGE THAT CROSSES FROM WHERE YOU ARE TO WHERE YOU WANT TO BE. IT GETS YOU WHERE YOU WANT TO GO.

As a boy growing up in Cincinnati, Ohio, my scariest moment happened when a fierce tornado ripped through our little suburban neighborhood. My mom and dad demanded we rush down to the basement—you’ve never seen a ten-year-old boy run faster or pray harder! The wind howled and the rain poured down. We watched debris fly across our backyard from our small basement windows. Bicycles, patio grills, and lawn chairs. I even remember seeing a boat take flight. The rain was so heavy it caused flooding in the streets everywhere. It was the worst natural disaster that little town had seen in decades.

Over the next week, rescue workers were everywhere attempting to restore what had been demolished. One particular scene sticks in my memory. It was a building that had caved in, and desperately needed repair. However, the rain had flooded the property, making it impossible for workers to get to it on foot. Interestingly, they built a bridge to the damaged building to repair it. I remember seeing scores of little bridges in these disaster areas. The bridges enabled the workers to get from where they were to where they wanted to go and fix the damage.

What a fitting analogy for leaders. Many times, our own character has caved in. It could be due to a disaster—our own personal tornado. Symptoms of the damage may be subtle. Maybe we lost a friendship. It may be financial debt, failing grades, or some weight we need to take off. It might even be anxiety or emotional depression. Inside, we feel like we’re crumbling—caving in. We need help.

Here’s what I have noticed in my life. Discipline is like those bridges that help me get to where I need to go. To repair the damage I need to build a bridge of discipline to get me there. Any time I need to get somewhere difficult, discipline is usually the bridge I must cross to get there.

Here’s what I know about the discipline bridge. It takes time and effort to build it, but once this bridge is in place it makes the journey easy. I can get back and forth with ease.

WHAT ROUTINES DO FOR YOU

Think about the time you first learned to drive a car. In the beginning, you had to think about everything you did. You were conscious of steering, shifting gears, signaling, braking, and accelerating. It might have even felt overwhelming if you had to learn to drive a stick shift. So many things to remember! However, over time, discipline took over. All those behaviors moved from your conscious mind to your subconscious mind. After a while, people don’t even think about what they do when they drive a car. Practice and discipline were the bridges that made the journey easy. It’s the same way with sports. Accomplished athletes have built habits into their lives over the years. It is second nature.

Discipline is the bridge that will get us there, and it takes a little while to build. At first, being disciplined seems hard—like you are adding one more item to your daily list of chores. But that’s not true. Over time, discipline is a bridge, not a burden. It makes the journey easier if you’ll hang with it. It becomes a part of you.

The key is to develop a disciplined life. Simply having disciplined compartments in your life won’t help you in the end. It needs to be a lifestyle. Today, we are interested in our image more than our integrity. Remember—the word “integrity” means to be whole, not divided. It is the opposite of hypocrisy. Image is about how we look or appear. It is superficial. There are millions of Americans whose discipline is only about image. Therefore, it only affects one part of their life.

Discipline for the purpose of image is a false bridge. It won’t get you where you want to go. If you use this false bridge to get you from your desires to your goals, you’ll find that it will someday collapse. Why? It’s not real. Real discipline impacts function, not just form, and should affect your whole life. It will get you from a desire to reality. You won’t just look better—you’ll live better. It is a long bridge. It won’t get you there overnight. Psychologists suggest it takes at least fourteen days of discipline to build a good habit. But stay on it, and you’ll find yourself getting past the damage of personal tornadoes. You’ll be able to repair what’s been harmed along the way.