When he was diagnosed with ADHD as a child, his kindergarten teacher told his mother, Michael can’t sit still. He can’t be quiet, he’s not gifted. Your son will never be able to focus on anything. Yet Michael Fred Phelps II is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold medals, Olympic gold medals in individual events and Olympic medals in individual events. Today, his mother reports, Michael’s ability to focus amazes me. His coach since the age of eleven, Bob Bowman, calls it his strongest attribute. How did it happen? He trained daily 365 days a year from the age of fourteen. He spent up to six hours in water daily. He channelled all his energy into one discipline.
With self-discipline almost everything is possible. (Theodore Roosevelt)
Self-discipline is the ability to make yourself do what you should do, at the time you should do it, in the way you should do it with consistency and without anyone breathing down your neck. Commitment to do what we should in a consistent way is discipline. Discipline is the difference-maker – the bridge between what we do and what we are capable of doing. Successful people are highly self-disciplined; they guide and encourage themselves to do the work they ought to do. That’s what takes average to good and good to great.
Our ambition should be to rule ourselves, the true kingdom for each one of us; and true progress is to know more and be more and do more. (Oscar Wilde)
Author: Yomi is a wordsmith, passionate about books, reading, education, healing and health. She has appeared several times on television and radio; speaking about her passion. She has Master’s degree in Medical Immunology from the College of Medicine, University of London and worked at a postgraduate college of medicine in London for over a decade before pursuing her passion for writing. She is the author of four books.
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