Nick Saban, when asked about his success in an interview spent most of his time talking about the concepts and values that helped him change a lot of lives in the kids he coached. At one point he started talking about self-discipline. “It’s a quality that successful people have whether in sports, business, family, or faith”. He said, “self discipline comes down to two questions:
(1) Can you make yourself do it? The things that are hard. The habits that others won’t do. The tiring things. The things that require sacrifice. For football players it might be the summer workouts, the two-a-days, and the hours of watching film. For those in business it might be late hours or early mornings. For Christians it could be the practicing of the fruit of the Spirit with habits that reflect love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control (Galatians 5:22-23).
(2) Can you keep yourself from it? The other part of discipline is staying away from the things that will negatively impact your goals. Those desiring to be superior athletes will avoid certain foods and do what they can to avoid situations that will devalue them in being recruited or drafted. Those in business may have to fight the urge to make decisions that might seem beneficial in short term but come with long term consequences. Much of the same is true for followers of Christ. Paul spent much of his letters warning Christians of the practices that could result in spiritual struggles and death (Colossians 3:5 11, Ephesians 5:3-14; Galatians 5:16-21). To live like Christ means we die to ourselves and live for something greater. Thus we are required to avoid the things that don’t reflect His goodness. Consequently, those things also seem to be the best for us physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
So, love him or hate him, Nick Saban knew how to motivate and guide young people to a certain standard. I don’t think I’d want him in a pulpit anytime soon, but sometimes you find some pretty amazing spiritual life lessons from unexpected sources. Can you make yourself do the hard things? Can you keep yourself from doing the negative things? That’s self-discipline. And if you put that motto into practice you might find success is not too far away.