03 Apr The cost of inaction

Mike Bandar, co-founder of Turn Partners, explains how pursuing sports during his childhood taught him the meaning of commitment and discipline.

“Throughout my whole childhood, my parents always ensured my brother and I had at least two active hobbies or sports.

“We generally had one staple that we would regularly practice and improve, for the most part this was swimming. We would swim 5 times a week with a mix of early morning and evening sessions. Ultimately we both swam competitively in national competitions.

“Although we were strongly encouraged to swim, it was never enforced. I specifically remember conversations where we were encouraged to think about what we enjoyed about swimming and consider the implications of not training, as well as think about what we might like to do instead of training that morning or evening.

“In hindsight, this was great exposure to the benefits of commitment and discipline as well as the costs of inaction.”

When someone wakes up and doesn’t want to go to school, or for a walk, or to see that friend, what if the conversation that followed was specifically around what they wanted to do instead? Trade-offs; where to spend time, energy or resources; are a normal part of an entrepreneur’s day.

What we don’t do can bring as many lessons as what we do, and the cost of inaction is an important lesson otherwise difficult to teach.