Leaders are no stranger to discipline. You got where you are today because of the discipline and drive that you acted on to build your business, solved problems that cropped up along the way, and learned from unexpected situations. Where do you see discipline serving you today?
Have you ever read The Count of Monte Cristo? Or seen the movie? If you have, you’ll recall that our hero Edmund Dantes is wrongly imprisoned for years of his life. This poor guy was in love, very handsome, and was about to get a promotion (which would have put him in a position to get engaged) before he was betrayed by his best friend.
Sometimes life is rough.
While Edmund is in prison, he gets some helpful mentorship from a fellow prisoner. He also keeps track of the days until he can escape. I saw the image I’ve attached for this post and I love this reframing of the concept of imprisonment: wherever you feel imprisoned, what if this was an egg and you were growing and getting ready to hatch instead of behind bars? What if, like our friend Dantes, you took the time in your egg to learn and grow – ahem, take ALL the space – until the time is up and you are ready to break out?
This is where mental discipline comes in. This approach is impossible without it: the decision you make to reconsider what is happening around you. Is it proof that the world and everything in it is against you? Or a clear opportunity for needed change?
Sometimes mental discipline can be difficult for leaders because people are looking to them for answers, expecting them to know what to do at all times, and because they feel the weight of responsibility for the success of whatever entity is in their care. Do you feel these burdens? How can you lead proactively without picking up the impossible burden that the world depends on you to perform?
Let’s shift the focus to your business? What if some opportunities for growth didn’t come through? What if the product that was selling so well before the pandemic is now no longer appealing to customers in their new frame of mind? What does this mean for you as the business owner or decision maker?
For Edmund, his chance to escape came when his prison mate died – he switched places with the body so he was the one thrown out into the sea (the prison was on an island). Out of the frying pan, into fire, we might say – but not Dantes. He ended up getting picked up by some pirates and then took command of their ship. There was no keeping this guy down, and the discipline he developed whilst in prison served him well in all the rest of his adventures.
The time you’re in is for learning. Do you have the humility to acknowledge that you have things to learn? Do you have the discipline to actually learn what you need to? What about the people around you? How are they using this time to learn? How are you as a business owner learning and developing as a result of the current situation?
Activity: For the next week, write down one new thing you learned everyday. This can be a new piece of information, a new skill, anything that you didn’t know before. How did this learning inform your experience and give you new insight?