Discipline: Good for the Body & the Soul

Discipline is a varied and difficult topic. It is controversial in its application. It is lauded when found and resisted when applied. It can apply to athletics, moral codes, healthy living, our work, our finances, and the overall conduct of our lives. A disciplined person is generally viewed as successful. Discipline in my life has always been a goal and has been one that I have rarely achieved. I don’t exercise every day, or eat a disciplined diet, or fold my clothes properly, or manage my finances in a disciplined manner. However, there are areas of my life overall that are more disciplined than others.

My model for discipline and its benefits are athletic. Coach Thomas disciplined his players and provided a code of conduct on and off the field that was a great benefit when it was needed on the field of play. He instilled respect for authority and reinforced the need to perform your tasks in a disciplined manner in order to achieve a higher degree of success. Physical exhaustion was the method of enforcement with a sprinkle of grace and a boatload of instruction. The discipline instilled –the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior—was a great benefit to our ultimate goals and a great lesson for application in the rest of our lives.

Discipline is unpopular in modern society. We want to do what we want do when we want to do it. Self determination is the operative imperative for our lives and discipline is disregarded because it involves someone else’s code and accepting instruction and consequences for violating the code. The process of discipline is uncomfortable and we have therefore crafted a view of life that is more comfortable, easier, and eschews discipline. Being a coach is far more difficult today than it was twenty years ago. Being a parent is far more difficult than it was twenty years ago. Being an employer is far more difficult than it was twenty years ago. The paradigm for instilling discipline has changed in all areas of life and it is anathema to those that would have it imposed upon them.

However, discipline leads to success. A disciplined team will be a match for a more talented team that lacks discipline. Disciplined financial management will avoid common pitfalls and result in financial success. Disciplined personal conduct will build trust in important relationships. Disciplined children will find favor and be prepared for life. A disciplined approach to work will achieve results and stability in the workplace. So, how do we get more discipline and administer discipline in our lives which are bombarded by a lack of the same?

This blog is too short and I am not smart enough to answer that question fully. Instead, self determination may lead us down the path to an answer. Where can we be more disciplined in our personal lives? At work, with our children, how we treat our spouse, financially? Find a code or a model for an area of life that needs an injection of discipline and submit to its tenets. Follow the instruction and enlist a mentor or accountability partner to assist in administering discipline in a certain area of life. Celebrate success and correct the things that pull you from the path. Perhaps if we are able to achieve greater discipline in our lives in targeted battleground areas, then the results in this New Year will be tangible and triumphant. After all, an example of discipline has a much better platform from which to instill discipline in those within their charge.