The Art of Discipline
The Art of Discipline –In this guide, we’ll throw more light on what discipline entails, especially what discipline and self-discipline are all about and how they can help you to achieve success.
Why do we need discipline?
- We are part of a generation, which likes living each day on its terms.
- We shy away from rules and aspire to live each moment to its fullest, without any restraint.
- While this might not sound too bad, have you ever wondered why you didn’t get into the college that you wanted?
- Or get that job you coveted the most?
- Have you ever thought about why you find it difficult to sustain your relationships?
- Have you always been puzzled as to why your results are never commensurate to the amount of effort that you put in?
- The answer to these above questions could be the lack of discipline.
- The reason why some of us fail to meet our targets, despite our best efforts, is because we lack discipline.
Again, as I said before, do not look at discipline as a negative element of your life.
- Let me give you an example to prove how discipline is important for even following your passions!
- Let’s assume that you are part of your school’s basketball team.
- You have an important tournament coming up in a month.
- Luckily, all your fellow players are in good form and are extremely talented.
Is this enough to get you that trophy?
- No.
You must practice every day for a certain number of hours.
- You will have to practice your routine several times.
- Even if your strategy for this game is the same and you have played your opponent several times in the past to understand their style, you still need to practice.
Why are you indulging in so much practice?
- To ensure that your body is in good form and to mentally prepare yourself for the game!
- Isn’t this a form of disciplining your body and mind?
- Out of passion for winning, all of you come together and engage in so much practice!
- All of you may have different playing styles.
- But your styles must be aligned on the day of the game, to reap the maximum benefits.
- It is a discipline that brings you together as a team.
- You will see in a while how to discipline/self-discipline will help you achieve success!
Living with no regrets is a good thing.
- But living, without worrying about consequences, is bad and detrimental to not just you but to the people around you as well.
- Most of us don’t see how our actions impact others.
- We fail to appreciate the importance of the things that we have.
- This is one important reason why this generation is pros at procrastination.
We would rather spend hours on Snapchat or Twitter or Instagram, instead of focusing on the work at hand.
- You will be able to get away with this reckless attitude only while the consequences aren’t too severe.
- But why wait until things get out of hand to do course corrections?
- When you are disciplined, you will surely be cognizant of your actions and behaviors.
- Now that I have spent quite some time talking about discipline, let’s see what it refers to.
So what is discipline?
- Discipline is nothing but the practice of getting trained or conditioned to think or react in a certain way, within a certain framework of principles.
- Sounds boring and daunting? Well, let us look at what self-discipline is all about.
- You will probably realize that discipline is not about a life based on someone else’s rules. It’s about having your own set of rules and living your life based on that!
What is self-discipline?
- Self-discipline is nothing but the ability to control one’s thoughts, actions, emotions, and behaviors. With self-discipline, you will be able to control your impulsive reactions.
- By exercising self-discipline, you are consciously letting go of the need to be immediately gratified or upset by your surroundings!
- It is a conscious effort to hold back your emotions and not react immediately.
In other words, self-discipline is all about being in control of your life and reaping the maximum benefits from it.
- When I say that you need discipline in your life, it does not mean that you should let go of your happiness and lead a boring life!
- You can continue having fun and do all the things that you like, so long as they are not detrimental to your overall wellbeing (ex: drug addiction).
- You will realize that having a bit of discipline can improve the quality of your relationships and help you sustain your happiness.
- Hence, it is not a bad thing after all.
- Self-discipline is all about improving your focus, directing your efforts more effectively, and reaping the maximum benefits from all your undertakings!
Self-discipline plays an important role in helping you achieve success in whatever you do.
It helps you hit the mark in the following manner:
- When you are disciplined, your tolerance levels are increased.
- Hence, you end up persevering more.
- You will not be easily disturbed by situations, which may put you out of your comfort zone.
- When your perseverance increases, you will keep going at your goal, no matter how many obstacles are placed in your way.
- Discipline automatically tunes your mind to keep trying, despite failures.
- We all know that it is not possible to strike gold on the first attempt.
- With some patience and consistent efforts on your part, you will most certainly taste the fruits of success.
Self-discipline equips you with the required patience.
- Discipline helps you stay focused on your target.
- When you are focused, you will be in a better position to put in your best efforts. Discipline also helps you deal with distractions.
- You will not be easily distracted by things around you and will be able to focus on your target.
Another important quality required for chasing success is the ability to maintain a calm and composed head all the time.
- Discipline will help you achieve that!
- When your mind is not clouded by other impulsive thoughts, emotions, or opinions, it becomes that much easier for you to focus.
- These are some of the top reasons, which indicate that discipline/self-discipline is required for achieving success.
- The various benefits of self-discipline are highlighted in the upcoming chapter, for you to fully appreciate its importance.
- Including discipline in your life is not an unpleasant experience, contrary to popular belief.
It is all a matter of perspective.
- You can look at discipline as a set of rules and dismiss it, only to regret it later.
- Or you can look at it as an opportunity to align your life with your goals, aspirations, and passions!
- Again, don’t try to change your life all at once, under the pretext of disciplining it.
- Make incremental changes to your thought processes and your routines and see how it goes.
Make course corrections, as and when required.
- Also, don’t try to incorporate discipline as part of your life, in a rushed manner.
- Nothing good ever comes out of doing things in haste.
- To help you get started, I have provided a separate chapter detailing tips to incorporate discipline as part of your life.
- So, don’t break your head too much yet, about disciplining your life.
- I am sure that by the end of this video course, you will realize that disciplining your life adds a lot of positivity to the various spheres of your life.