The first two books I’ve read this year were “Winning” and “Relentless”–both by Tim Grover, the guy who was the physical trainer for Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade (just to name a few)…

He gives great insight into the mind of a champion and the work ethic necessary to win at a high level.

When it comes time to get to work, he says, “You don’t have to love the work. You just need to love the results.”

I have found this to be so true in my own life as I’ve pursued various goals. For instance, I’m not a runner–I hate running. I don’t have the body of a runner and I find it to be about the most boring thing I can do for my physical fitness. But I run a couple days a week anyways. Why? Because I love the feeling of being physically fit and in good cardiovascular shape. And when I get done with a longer run (about 5-6 miles for me), I love the feeling of knowing I completed something I didn’t want to do.

Not only does it increase my physical stamina, but it increases my mental strength as well.

Discipline does not require you to love the work. (In fact, if you do, it doesn’t really require discipline.)

One of my favorite Bible verses is Hebrews 12:11, which says, “No discipline is pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it.”

It’s not supposed to be easy. It’s not going to be pleasant. But it will be worth it.

The trick that has always worked for me when it comes to living disciplined is keeping the end in mind, as Stephen Covey would say. I focus on the end result and what it’s going to feel like once I’ve finished the work.

Even when I have trouble visualizing it in the moment, I can still make the disciplined choice to do the work trusting that I’ll feel better when I’m done.

There have been plenty of times I’ve regretted NOT doing the work when I needed to, but I’ve NEVER regretted the work after having done it.