Short Note on Self-Discipline

Short Note on Self-Discipline

To achieve any form of success, discipline plays a critical role. This is, of course, outside your skill, talent, pedigree, or whatnot. I like how Wikipedia defines it.

“Self-discipline refers to the practice of self-restraint, controlling one’s emotions, and ignoring impulses. It is about creating new habits of thought, action, and speech toward improving oneself and reaching institutional goals”

Self-discipline means forgoing immediate pleasures and comfort to achieve one’s goal either short-term or long-term. “Forgoing pleasure” is a hell of a nut to crack. It is pretty difficult to ignore scrolling through TikTok to get your article written and published. There is nobody that finds that easy to do. But having a clear picture of your goals and your determination to achieve them might be all the fuel you need to get that article to the public.

Self-discipline is embracing discomfort and chaos. It is rooted in your ability to leave whatsoever comfort you enjoy for the sake of reaching your goals irrespective of your emotions or impulses.

I recently found out that I was spending too much time on TikTok. I enjoyed it. It gave me quick dopamine and I became addicted. But I soon realized that it was taking me farther from my goals by robbing me of valuable time. I knew that I had to delete the app. That is self-discipline. Nobody had to tell me.

We are mostly wired to wait for instructions. We are looking for a coach, a parent, or a mentor to tell us what to do and what not. But deep down, we know what is right. We know when we are engaging in the wrong activities. However, rather than listen to the voice of self-discipline, we listen to the lizard brain, the beneficiary of all the pleasure you are enjoying.

At that moment, when you don’t feel like doing the work, is when your self-discipline is tested the most. Hopefully, you can expend effort to do that thing even when you do not feel like it.

Hopefully, this is a call to stand up and do that hard work. Or maybe it is a call to deal with your addiction. Most importantly, it is a call to take agency in your life.

to be continued…