Discipline

“Discipline is freedom” - Jocko Willink

If this quote is true, lately I’ve felt myself stepping back into a familiar cage. 

After months of six-day-a-week triathlon training, September arrived like an exhale.

A welcomed reset. No race on the calendar. Slower mornings. More time to read, write, and reflect.

But that relaxation for me easily becomes indulgence. And I’ve indulged — particularly in the form of THC, my long-time companion.

It clouds my mind just enough to let my ambition drift a little further away.

Part of me says, You earned this break.

Another part replies, You know where this path leads. 

Welcome to the looping conversation in my head.

How do we find the discipline needed to make the most important changes?

The Distraction of a Goal

Training for a race offers a convenient mental crutch. There’s structure. Defined mile markers. There’s a measurable amount of effort required to get your body ready for a specific day.

But what happens when the goal is less tangible?

What happens when you’re not training for a race, but training for life?

When the target isn’t a medal, but a better version of yourself? A fearless version who stands confidently in the purpose and pursuit of self mastery.

When the prize is freedom to live life without settling for less than you are capable of.

This is where the real discipline begins — not of the body, but of the mind.

Mental Discipline Is the Hardest Kind

I’ve seen enough glimpses of who I’m becoming to know it’s real. What’s tantalizingly possible.

2.5 years without alcohol has allowed for a growing clarity and confidence to emerge. 

I feel like i’m gaining in my pursuit of that reality.

But I’ve also seen how quickly I can slip backward — back into the patterns I’ve rehearsed for decades. Back into addictive behaviors.

Back into the story that says, you’ll always be this way.

The story is powerful. But it’s still just a story. 

And I know that I have the power to author whatever story I want to believe in.

That’s what real mental discipline is — the daily decision to write the script. 

To leverage the limitless power of your mind and choosing what story to believe in. 

Belief

Beliefs are the subconscious ideas that we hold true about who we are and what we can and cannot achieve. 

And because they operate at the subconscious level, they guide us invisibly. 

Belief → Thought → Feeling → Action → Result

So the first order of business is identifying those self limiting beliefs.

We can ask ourselves “In what ways am I contributing to the circumstances of my life that I say that I don’t want?” 

Those actions are the breadcrumbs that lead to the often invisible belief driving the behavior. 

Changing your beliefs about who you are and what you’re capable of is the work of self mastery. 

It’s a pursuit of wisdom and growth.

Mental self discipline is the key to that process. And why it’s so challenging. 

So much easier to rest in the comfort of playing small.

Daily Discipline

As I shake off this September slough, I’m refocusing on this inner work.

I’ve revisited a purpose statement I wrote during a powerful workshop — a declaration of what I believe I’m here to do.

It scares me.

Not because it’s impossible, but because i feel just how possible it can be if I stay true to the mission.

To live into it, this is part of my daily mental fitness routine.

• Start with the day intention. How do I want to show up today?

• Imagine what might knock me off center, so I’m ready.

• End with reflection, using setbacks as fuel — not shame.

Sounds easy? Try it for a week. See how quickly you forget, or think about it and just say “nah I”m good”

It takes extra mental energy our brains don’t naturally want to spend to engage in thinking this way.

That’s the discipline.

I’m also incorporating a mantra from Jim Murphy’s Inner Excellence:

Be undistractable. Be unoffendable. Be unembarrassable.

These are simple to understand but will take a lifetime of practice to full embrace.

I have broken each down in my daily intentions. I know what my personal triggers are and when they are likely to surface.

I know that everyday, I’m right where I’m supposed to be in this journey.

I know what got me here. I know what stands in the way of getting where I want to go.

And I know how to free myself.

Building the Architecture

This discipline isn’t a grand heroic act.  Nobody else sees it or knows what ‘s happening.

It’s a private, daily construction project. 

Morning Intentions. Evening reflection. Tiny choices repeated with care. 

It’s about building the neural architecture that supports the identity I’m stepping into.

The one that doesn’t shrink. That doesn’t hide. That doesn’t numb.

It’s a spiritual practice. A mental fitness regimen. A belief that I am in control and can create any reality I want to experience. 

In the same way that I’ve watched new skyscrapers rise on the Chicago skyline, almost imperceptibly day after day, until one day they are complete and magnificent.

With the same daily self discipline, we can build the a new reality for ourselves.

#CoachKris