The Story About Discipline

Last year, a new colleague joined my team. I took on the responsibility of onboarding her, assisting with tasks such as setting up access and getting her laptop ready. Additionally, I familiarized her with different areas of the office. When it came to the coffee corner, I asked whether she preferred tea or coffee. Surprisingly, she replied that she enjoyed neither. Assuming she preferred water, I continued.

During a summer company event, where beer, wine, and champagne were offered, I asked if she drank. With a smile, she responded, “Thi, I don’t drink tea or coffee, but I do drink.” I chuckled, realizing she fit right into our team dynamic 🤣.

Later, she discovered my habit of waking up at 5 a.m. to learn, which impressed her so much she shared the story with her husband. He suggested she spend a month with me to learn about walking up early and discipline. However, he jokingly doubted she could keep up for just one day. Whenever the topic of discipline arose, I teased her about staying with me for a month, to which she always declined without hesitation 😂.

During our team’s annual planning session at the beginning of this year, we exchanged feedback. The feedback that I got was “The smile of the team” and “Energetic, always learning new things”. One feedback caught my attention “You are the most discipline person that I have ever met” which I clearly knew who gave me that feedback 😆.

An amusing incident occurred during a team outing when I dozed off on a sofa. My colleagues woke me and suggested I move to a bed, to which I responded, “No, I need to brush my teeth before bed.” The next day, while waiting for the train home, we sat in a cafe in Schaffhausen when someone jokingly asked what would happen if I slept until 5 a.m. I assured them my internal clock would rouse me before midnight, reminding me to brush my teeth. Although I could brush before sleeping, it’s challenging to time perfectly, as a few minutes can turn an energetic person into a sleepy one.

Maintaining discipline extends to this blog, where I’ve committed to daily posts for a month to cultivate a sustainable habit. Despite feeling tired from the outing yesterday, I pushed through and completed my daily post. So far, everything is going well.

P.S.: Because I’m writing this post now, I must uphold my commitment to daily blogging until April 29th. Challenge accepted 💪.