Personal leadership is the process of keeping your vision and values before you and aligning your life to be congruent with them. Stephen R. Covey

How often do you find yourself in the gap between what you know you should be doing versus what you’re doing?

The gap I referred to is when you’re being incongruent and inconsistent with how you want and know you should live your life.

Before I continue, let me briefly let you off the hook by letting you know that you’re not alone. Even the most disciplined among us tend to occasionally ‘fall of the wagon’ and act in ways that are incongruous and inconsistent with their beliefs.

Closing the gap between what you know you should be doing versus what you do is challenging because the temptation to do what’s easy or alluring is always present.

Doing what’s easy is your natural tendency. Or, said another way, life naturally moves towards entropy – a gradual decline into disorder. And so, you must be consistently vigilant and resist the temptation of always doing what’s easy.

The alluring comes in all forms. From digital distraction to your favorite desserts, all often within arm’s reach. Whether it’s the glow of your phone or the sweet scent of sugar, they’re both designed to tempt you away from what you know you should be doing and towards them. And it’s not only phones and sugar that are sirens, but everything in between that prevents you from staying congruent with your beliefs.

Before I go, let me clarify that I’m not suggesting you lead a hyper-pious life and forgo all the pleasures that life has to offer. What I am recommending is that you add just enough discipline to your life to accomplish and achieve what’s important to you.

So, the next time you find the gap widening between how you’re acting and the person you want to be, look for where you’re being inconsistent and incongruent. Once you’ve identified the gap, add a few guardrails to keep you on track and close the gap between what you’re doing versus what you know you should be doing.

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