Discipline: Regarding Its Implications and Applications
First of all, what is discipline? While it is a common enough word, its commonality has rendered it almost worthless; it has come to mean nothing more than preventing the self from doing some things. Perhaps it is having the 'discipline' to avoid eating that slice of pie. Perhaps it is the discipline to run an additional five minutes on the treadmill.
While these are all good displays of discipline, to think of this particular word as somehow extending only to these relatively petty things is to disregard, to devalue it somehow. It's much like the word 'awesome' - the word implies that an object it is ascribed to is awe-inspiring, but somehow it has been used to describe every little thing from cupcakes to shirts.
So what is discipline?
Discipline entails strength of will and motivation and the ability to continue even if it feels better not to continue. Note the word 'feels' - discipline must not act on feelings, but on reality. One may feel that one is unable to do a certain action, but discipline entails that one still do it, regardless of feelings. Reason must drive discipline, not passion. One must do what one needs to do, regardless of moods, feelings, emotions, for a duration of necessary to complete an action. There must be no excuses, no appeals to the self, no escaping from doing what must be done.
Strength of will - that is the foundation of discipline. One must stand stubbornly or advance like a steamroller. The will must not be thwarted, whether by external objects or by internal affects; one must not stop and never retreat even in the face of futility.
We also come to another oft-misused word - motivation. What is one's motive? What makes one move? This must be identified early on if discipline is to be established. An advance can only be made towards a directed position. You cannot advance if you do not know where you are going. You only advance when you realize, fully and completely, what you are after.
One must discipline oneself; not merely to achieve the fleeting, the petty and the mundane, but to develop in the self the drive to overcome anything.
Life may present barriers, but through discipline, nothing will really stand in the way.
Published by JG Florencio
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