There are two pains you will feel in your life…

The pain of discipline…

Or the pain of regret…

The pain of discipline…requires us…to do all the right things…

To discipline ourselves… to get out of bed every morning with a positive attitude…

To discipline ourselves… to tell our family that we love them everyday before we leave for work…

To discipline ourselves…to expand our knowledge of ourselves and the world a little more everyday…

To discipline ourselves… to doing everything…legally…ethically and morally correct…

To discipline ourselves to go to work each day…and complete every task we have…

To discipline ourselves…to be better leaders…

To discipline ourselves…to eat the right foods everyday…

To discipline ourselves…to exercise and stay fit…

To discipline ourselves…with time management…so that we maximize our day…

To discipline ourselves…to practice…drill…and rehearse our hobbies…

To discipline ourselves…to spend time with our family and friends…

To discipline ourselves…to never react out of anger…

To discipline ourselves…to help another in their hour of need…

To discipline ourselves…to just simply…stop and smell the flowers…

For if we do not feel the small pain of all of these disciplines…we will feel the larger pain…of regret…

The regret…of having a terrible attitude when we get up…

The regret…of not telling our family we love them everyday…for no one knows when ones time is up…and they are gone forever…

The regret…of not gaining any knowledge of what is happening with ourselves and the world…for then…we will be lost…

The regret…of illegal…unethical…or immoral…conduct…that could play on our minds…or worse yet…land us in jail…

The regret…of going to work each day…and just going through the motions…never advancing our careers of feeling fulfilled….

The regret…of not being a better leader…for we are all leaders…even if we simply lead just ourselves…

The regret…of eating the wrong foods everyday…thus getting obese…and succumbing to major health problems…

The regret…of not getting out and exercising…a good long walk can do you good…

The regret…of not managing all the time in a day…thus never completing all the things we would like to get done…

The regret…of not practicing or rehearsing what we do for fun…when its game time…you won’t have any game…

The regret…of not spending enough time with family and friends…for life is just a short journey…

The regret…of what we might say or do…if we react to a situation in anger…

The regret…of knowing someone needed our help…and we ignored them…

The regret…of not taking the time to smell the flowers…for if it is all work and no fun…it will make our lives extremely boring…

You see…the pain of discipline is far less painful…than the pain of regret…

For it isn't the burdens of today that drive men mad.

Rather… it is the regret over yesterday or fear of tomorrow.

Regret and fear are twin thieves that will rob us of today…

Have the discipline to lead your life…the way you want to lead it…

For as you get older…without that discipline…the regrets start to pile up…

To see a video of this blog, go to the following link:

Jim Kristoff.com video - The Pain of Discipline or the Pain of Regret

About the Author: With 30 years in the retail Automotive Industry, from a Salesperson to a Dealer, I have a vast amount of experience in all areas of an automotive environment. You can follow me on my website, www.JimKristoff.com, on twitter @jimkristoff, on LinkedIn  http://www.linkedin.com/in/jimkristoff or on youtube, www.youtube.com/user/jimkristoff