THE JOYS OF SELF DISCIPLINE
I know, most people would be wondering why I named this article the way I did, but be patient, read through it and you'd agree with me that there really is joy to be derived from being self disciplined. Self discipline is a term many of us make mentally when we want to get some things done, it's that inner voice that keeps pushing us to do more, to achieve, to strive and to accomplish, but do we take time to listen to that inner voice and even when we do listen, our not-so willing flesh refuses to act in the way our mind has urged us to.
Self discipline starts from within and the effects are seen without. The ability to keep promises one makes to self is the highest form of self discipline for it's only when we can keep the promises we make to ourselves, we can then try to keep the ones we make to other people.
Every year, we make resolutions, we resolve to drop some pounds, finish up on something we've been procrastinating on, avoid most of our bad habits and try to be nice to the people around us, we make many beautiful resolutions and then we get shocked when on the second day of the year we find that we're back to our old self, we've even added more pound in under 24 hours and we've shelved the stuff we're supposed to be working on, procrastinating it again till the next year's resolution. But first, what's that self discipline, I'm rattling about? I call it that invincible magic within us that make us want to achieve, make us want to sacrifice the present pleasures for a future good, self discipline is that determination to keep at it, regardless of the distractions within and around us, the determination to ensure that we keep to deadlines and not keep asking for extra hours to finish what we're supposed to have finished two hours ago. Exercising self-discipline can make the difference between an averagely talented person doing something amazing with their lives and a naturally talented person realizing very little of their potential. Self-discipline makes you happier; it gives you that sense of real achievement earned through sheer intensity of sustained focus. If you really want to succeed at a task, then self discipline is essential.
Now, self discipline don't just apply to tasks we need to get done, it also applies to habits we need to change, improve or stop altogether. We all have various forms of addiction; drugs, sex, porn, video games, the internet, laziness (yes, laziness is also an addiction, hell, it's even the foundation of all the other addictions), etc...you can add your own addictions, but we're all guilty to one or two or all of these addictions and we need self discipline to combat this. The question now is what do you do with your free time? Do you spend it improving yourself or you spend it indulging yourself in something foolish? Yeah, I know most of us have the mindset to just live for the moment, saying life is short, and they would want to get all the fun they could possibly get, but let me break it to you, all that fun ain't good for you if you don't know how to manage it or control yourself while indulging in it. Life isn't some waiting room in which to 'kill time' with repetitive self-amusements. Self-discipline, like a muscle, can be developed. If we were raised in a disciplined environment, we may find it easier to be self-disciplined, but we can all develop more. Celebrities have never been more visible in our culture. Famous sportspeople, wonderful actors, and musicians are all over the media. But what we don't see are the thousands of hours of super-focused work these people have put in behind the scenes.
It's easy to feel that success comes easily; that it's just a question of self-belief. But anyone who has achieved anything has done so because they've been able to control and direct their own inner lives and actions to the extent that has enabled them to become super-able at what they do.
It's really not easy to be self disciplined, I won't lie and tell you it is, but the truth is that, it really is possible to be self disciplined. Nothing good comes easy, the tortoise only makes progress when its head sticks out, stick yourself out from the lazy crowd, be productive, be disciplined enough to make impact, don't settle for good when you can do better, don't sit down burning calories on your couch when you can go work out, go get that task you've been procrastinating on, it's really not as hard as you think. Always make it a point of duty to finish whatever you start, never stop half way. Every morning, get up (yes do, please get up!) and tell yourself: "Today is not over until I have done..." – whatever you need to do that day. Literally, you can't finish your day until what you set out to do has been done. I'm not kidding. Respect yourself enough to keep your own promises to yourself.
At the end of the day, when you look back to see that you really accomplished something you set out to do that day, you won't just go to bed tired, you'd also feel happy enough to set another task for the next day and then the day after that, lighting the world with your energy and leaving a mark.
