THE FOUR D’S
Motivation gets you going. Discipline keeps you going.
—JIM RYAN
The only discipline that lasts is self-discipline.
—BUM PHILLIPS
Several years ago, a Phoenix-area school district conducted a survey of its high school athletes. The results confirmed growing rumors and suspicions. Of the students at three high schools who responded to the survey, more than 20 percent said they knew teammates or other athletes who were using steroids.
The Paradise Valley district took quick action. Believing schools have an obligation to safeguard against the danger of drugs, the district instituted random drug testing of its high school athletes. The program made national news and sparked lively debate.
Some people outside the district told administrators that drug testing might put district athletes at a competitive disadvantage. “They think because other schools use steroids our athletes won’t be able to compete without using them, too,” said Toby Spessard, a district administrator. “That logic is strange, to say the least. If our athletes have healthy minds and bodies, and know they’re going to compete fairly, I think that’s an enormous advantage for us.”
At the time, I was team counselor for the NFL Cardinals. The school district asked if I would sit on a committee and develop a program to educate coaches and athletes about drugs and offer strategies to improve performance without the use of drugs, especially steroids.
A sports medicine physician with the U.S. Olympic Committee conducted a study in which he asked young athletes this question: If a drug existed that would help you win an Olympic gold medal, but using it would take five years off your life, would you take it? More than half answered yes.
Learning how to use one’s mind can be as potent as any performance-enhancing drug. In medical studies, many patients report improvement in their physical condition after they are given placebos, or sugar pills. Why? The power of the mind.
I developed a mental skills training program for drug-free athletes called “The Naturals.” The night I outlined the program at a meeting with hundreds of high school athletes and their parents I brought along two Cardinals players, Garth Jax and Ron Wolfley.
Someone said that people who have no fear either are in mental institutions or on special teams. Wolfley played on special teams for the Cardinals. He made All-Pro running kamikaze missions, bolting downfield on punts and kickoffs, crashing full speed into oncoming opponents at great risk to his health and safety. As a player he was fearless and tough and the most quotable player in the locker room.
When I introduced Wolfley to the crowd, his message carried the same energy and passion with which he played the game. Ron spoke of a former NFL player he knew who took steroids and had become gravely ill. “I’ve seen steroids, and I’m telling you, I don’t use any of that stuff,” Wolfley proclaimed. “The only drugs I use are the four D’s,” and he ticked them off, one by one, his rising voice whip-cracking over the silent auditorium. “Desire … Dedication … Determination … Discipline. Those are the drugs I use! And I don’t have to buy them on the street corner. They don’t cost me anything.” He pointed to his chest, to his heart. “I’ve got ’em right here.”
Desire. We talked at great length about desire in the last section. “Want” power is as important as will power when it comes to accomplishing your goals. What’s your wish? What do you long for? Ted Williams found his singular desire at an early age. What’s your dream? How badly do you want it?
Dedication. Dedication is turning desire into action, which requires lasting commitment. Football coach Lou Holtz said, “If you don’t make a total commitment to whatever you are doing, then you start looking to bail out the first time the boat starts leaking.” Randy Johnson, the most dominating power pitcher of our time, says the most tragic event in his life—his father died on Christmas Day, 1992—proved to be the turning point of his career. “That was the year my heart became a lot bigger,” Johnson said. “It’s a matter of maturity and it’s a matter of my heart getting bigger and it’s a matter of dedicating myself to be the best.”
Determination. Everyone wants to be successful, but those who achieve success are steeled by an unwavering resolve. They are self-motivated—the kind of motivation that fueled and sustained Jack Nicklaus early in his pro career as he beat golf balls for an hour, then another, on the practice range until it was almost dark.
“Let’s go, Jack,” his new wife, Barbara, called out impatiently. “I’m hungry.” With callused hands, Nicklaus hit another ball, then another, then another into the dying light. “So am I,” Jack replied.
Discipline. It means doing what you have to do when you need to do it, whether you want to or not. Self-discipline—the only kind that lasts—is action oriented. It doesn’t procrastinate, and it doesn’t make excuses. “Setting a goal is not the main thing,” said Tom Landry, the former Dallas Cowboys coach who is enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “It’s deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan. The key is discipline.”
Once you have your dream and direction, it is desire, dedication, determination, and discipline that keep you going. Ask yourself this: Are you walking your talk?