THE DECISION
There is a specific moment every morning that determines the trajectory of your life.
It’s not when you check your email. It’s not when you walk into the office.
It is the split second immediately after you wake up, when your brain presents you with an option to ignore your commitments.
“It’s raining. Maybe we run tomorrow.” “I didn’t sleep well. I need the rest.” “I’ve been good all week. One day off won’t hurt.”
This is the negotiation. And Rule #5 of NO DRIFT is: Don’t Negotiate With Yourself.
Most people think discipline is about willpower. It isn’t. Willpower eventually runs out. It is a battery that drains. Discipline isn’t about punishment, it is about removing the option to choose.
The Phelps Standard
Another Michael Phelps story? Another Michael Phelps story. Between 2002 and 2008, Michael Phelps trained every single day for five years. birthdays, holidays, Christmas - it didn't matter.
His coach, Bob Bowman, didn't give him Sundays off because they weren't building rest; they were building a physiology that the world had never seen.
Phelps didn't wake up on Christmas morning 2005 and ask himself, "Do I feel like getting in the pool?" The decision had already been made years ago. The pool was non-negotiable. By removing the daily decision, he removed the daily fatigue of deciding. He just executed. Now, are you and I training to be Olympians? No (well, maybe you are - I don’t know who reads this newsletter). But we are trying to live lives of purpose. And you can’d do that if you negotiate with yourself.
The 2025 Streak
Last year, I worked out 365 days in a row. Every single day.
People ask me how I stayed motivated for a whole year. I tell them the truth: I wasn't.
There were days I was fired up and felt great, of course. Then there were days I was tired. Days I was sick. Days I was traveling. If I had allowed myself to negotiate on those days, I would have quit in February.
But I had made a decision to not negotiate with myself. To honor my commitments. To live above the line. When you stop negotiating with yourself, you silence the "Drift." You free up the mental energy you usually waste on the internal debate and channel it into the work. I didn’t have to wake up and battle each day. The decision had already been made.
The Challenge
Where are you currently holding a daily negotiation with yourself?
Is it the alarm? The diet? The sales calls? The difficult conversation with a direct report?
Stop re-litigating decisions you’ve already made. You committed to it. Now do it. Honor your commitments.
Live above the line.
For you,
Kevin
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