“You won, said my boss. Well done!” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He handed me a certificate for a countrywide physiotherapy examination in which I’d achieved the best mark, along with a prize. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was overjoyed and not a little surprised. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You see, it was only a few years before that I’d almost flunked my course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Picking up my first year results, I knew enough to worry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
My worst fears were confirmed in a report card outlining failures on crucial components of my training, including a four-week hospital work placement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After meeting with my tutors, I was told, rather unceremoniously, that maybe I wasn’t cut out for the academic rigours of the degree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although it was easy to assign blame, I knew I needed to take responsibility<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The last year had been hedonistic, as I enjoyed my new-found freedom, making friends and partying while generally neglecting the reason I went to university. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Against the advice of my tutors, however, I elected to retake my failed modules, remaining at university over the holidays to catch up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If anything, the tutors’ doubts concerning my abilities only made me more determined to prove them wrong\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n During that summer I was a machine, hitting the books like a demon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Living alone in my student accommodation, while my friends were away on fun holidays, there were zero distractions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I attended the gym daily and improved my diet, losing the excess weight I’d gained from an unhealthy lifestyle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I was in full monk-mode, fuelled by a desire to show my true capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My transformation from failed student to prize-winning graduate was no accident. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You see before that I’d been completely unstructured in my approach, led astray by my emotions and short term desires, much to my detriment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Getting drunk, eating crap and over-socialising isn’t the best formula for high performance. Who would have thought?! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Removing these external influences and honing in on the essentials was essential, allowing me not only to restore confidence in my abilities, but also uncover a vital lesson about the power of discipline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Jocko Willink<\/a> says,<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Discipline = Freedom”<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe importance of discipline<\/h2>\n\n\n\n