Being the Boss of Me

Chances are that sometime in your life you have heard a child say, “You’re not the boss of me! I am!” I’m not debating whether or not this is an appropriate comment as it depends on the context. “You’re not the boss of me” raises an interesting question. Am I the boss of me? Are you the boss of you?

Your first response is probably, “Of course, I’m the boss of Me. Who else would be?” But there’s more to it than that. The truth is that most of us let our urges, impulses and emotions run our life a little more than we should. I believe that BEING THE BOSS OF ME means that the very best of who I am is in control, the part of ME that is patient, compassionate and disciplined. This is easier in theory than it is in reality, but with a little work I think we can all improve.

The easiest way to be the boss of me is to gain better control of our own lives is to mindfully work on self-discipline.

Self-discipline is merely doing what you should do, regardless of whether or not you want to do it.

I once heard a story of a gentleman who realized that he wasn’t in control of his life, so he decided to conduct an experiment. He committed to getting up every morning at 4 AM for one year to go out in his backyard to move a pile of rocks from one place to the other. The next day he would get up again and move the rocks back to their original location. The point of this exercise was to try to develop a higher level of self-discipline. His reasoning was that if he could get himself to follow through with this meaningless and difficult exercise, then he could get himself to do just about anything. The experiment was a success. At the end of the year, this man’s level of discipline and the level of control that he had over his life had increased tenfold.

So the big question is: What is, metaphorically speaking, your pile of rocks? What personal discipline can you practice that will help the best you be in control of your life? Commit to it. You’ll love the results.