Smart, Strong, Determined or Disciplined?

Smart, Strong, Determined or Disciplined?

Through my experience, I have learned that everyone hits walls. The walls I am talking about are mental barriers that people have. They subconsciously think that they cannot do something and their bodies start to react accordingly. No, I don’t have a bunch of academics telling me this, this is from my experience.

Sometimes it is fear, or lack of training or just preconceived notions, but the body physically reacts to a subconscious wall. Running is a good example. I have been training for 3 miles for 15 years now. In trying to learn to run 10, my body starts hurting at about 5. The knees start hurting, shins start tightening up, back starts cramping. It tries to tell me that I just haven’t trained to go that far, so I “can’t.” I must get beyond that wall.

In the case of fear, for me, it is crowds. Now this one is not training, although I have never been trained to go into crowds, but life-experience fear. Ever since I have deployed, crowds have bothered me. My senses start going into over-drive and my mind yells “RUN!!!” almost so loud that I think those with me can hear it. Of course I can just relax and stay right there in the middle of the crowd and just blend in like everyone else, but my mind tells me I “can’t.” I must get beyond that wall.

In the case of preconceived notions, I could never be a millionaire and tithe $100,000.00 in one month. I just don’t see that happening. Why not? If someone else can do it, why not me? That is just a subconscious wall that my mind tells me you “can’t.” I must get beyond that wall.

As I was running the morning, I was thinking about the walls I was hitting. Oddly enough, I have one at 1.2 miles, 2.8 miles, 3.5 miles, and about every half mile thereafter. My everything, just starts noticeably hurting, almost as if my body is telling me, “stop, I’m done running.” I always thought about why or how I get beyond those walls, and just pictured myself busting through them.

Well, this morning, I wondered about the walls we can’t bust through. My mind pictured a wall that was as thick as it was tall, and endless to the right and left. Then I thought, over, or under.

Now if you are going to bust through a wall, you must be strong. Of course this made me feel good because this is always the picture I had in my mind as I hit the walls. A few seconds later I started considering the mileage I had been putting on my knees and started thinking about “over.”

The smart just go over the wall. This was not a heartening thought as I was too stupid until now to think of this… better late than never I guess. So who goes under?

It takes some serious determination to dig under a thick subconscious wall. It must be the determined that dig under. Those scientists that sent men to the moon must have had this type of enduring determination to just keep digging under the wall.

Alright, am I smart enough to get over the wall or determined enough to dig under it? My mind drifted around to walls I had been over or had to dig under and my answer hit me: boot camp... Discipline. The difference between those with discipline and those with gifts is their abilities to adapt.

Before I go further, I have to address you divergent thinkers who ask, “Why get beyond that wall? Just sit down and enjoy the view!” Valid question, but these walls are those that prevent growth; and the living, grow. When you stop growing you die. I must grow and I must get beyond that wall. Sitting down and enjoying the view is not an option for me.

That said, the disciplined will train themselves to get smarter, stronger or more determination. They will condition themselves to accept only success.

The Marine Corps defines discipline as “instant, willing obedience to orders.” So who is there giving you orders when you are on that run and hit the 5 mile mark? Who makes you go that 6th or 7th or 8th mile? Self. Self discipline is what is developed through habitually facing the unpleasant crowd situation and facing it successfully.

Obey your own orders! Set yourself a goal and discipline yourself to stretch beyond your walls.

Semper Fi!