The Pain of Discipline Versus the Pain of Regret

One of my athletes, Qadir Forbes, told me this phrase after our 5:15AM training session on Friday.
It came up while we were discussing what time he actually had to wake up to get there.

While almost all of our athletes live on the South Shore of Staten Island (which is where we train), this athlete lives in Canarsie, Brooklyn.

This means he has to get up before 3:30AM.

He would rather deal with "The Pain of Discipline" than "The Pain of Regret".

The discipline involves going to bed early, so he can wake up well rested at 3:30AM.
The discipline involves driving to SI and paying a toll on the Verrazzano which is almost $15.

What if he didn't do this?

What if he just trained on his own in Brooklyn?

What if he never got to make Advanced Training part of his DNA?

That would be "The Pain of Regret"

• The regret of not being prepared for his college combines
• The regret of watching his friends becoming more athletic and stronger than he is.
• The regret of not meeting a great group of training partners.
• The regret of having to watch the game from the side line.
• The regret of never meeting his full potential.

That's why he gets up at 3:30AM.

He understands that the pain of regret is way worse than the pain of discipline.

Do you?