What is Discipline? It’s one of the major questions that plague us in this day and age. A concept hammered into us since we were kids, so we’d hope it’s extremely crucial for our daily life. But, unfortunately, we all might have noticed something; we manage to float through our lives without even thinking about maintaining discipline.
Discipline is silly ideas wafting around in the air because the older generation is after our freedom and do not want us to be happy, that’s the vague idea that has sprouted in out head. Discipline is not, ‘cool’, it’s not necessary.
Thus, by the simple circulation of vague ideas, we have rendered generation after generations ideas of discipline to dust. Granted, we do feel somewhat caged but does negating the entire idea serving anyone right? No, so let’s talk about this old, antiquated idea.
Discipline is what we are taught in school, it even gets precedence over knowledge. We are given a specific syllabus and asked to understand certain concepts; anything beyond the specificity of the syllabi is rendered useless.
Knowledge is vast and cannot possibly be put in a box; thus even though we are told the education entails knowledge, it seldom holds true. Education imparts with something more inert than that – discipline; from wearing the right clothes to maintaining etiquette. Our behavior is monitored and rules guard us.
However, as I have mentioned before – is it that important? It should be, shouldn’t it? This age old practice of the 21st century to ingrain in us the fundamentals of living by maintaining law and order is also in a way discipline. It surrounds us, yet we run away from it.
Think about it, is living within a limitation that stringent are they asking us to do anything beyond our capacity? If not, then why do children rebel and squirm at the idea of discipline. They break away from these norms and built their own safe space.
Now, I understand their perspective, they feel restricted and uncomfortable as it does not give them enough space to breathe and live a life they yearn to. But everything does not necessarily need to be black and white.
Discipline is not a word synonymous to restriction but a way to live your life with organization and system.A better life is lead with organization.
Now, all this jargon could rile you up – you could be thinking “everybody says so but it does not help.” But all I’d like to say is nothing worth doing is easy. You have a goal and your fervor is ignited but you have no idea how to achieve it. Discipline is the key, and it is the one thing you abhor beyond comprehension. But, discipline does not take your love out for you project, it helps you achieve it.
Like, for instance – you have a recipe in hand for chocolate soufflé, but you are vegetarian so you obviously can’t add egg, you can but that would make you a non- vegetarian and that wouldn’t make any sense. Anyway, what I mean by it is that you can mold ideas to suit your own positioning. You don’t need to listen to archaic ideas of discipline, we are the millennial, DYI it.
Now you must be thinking, what I mean by it. It’s pretty simple, if you are scared that you will be barricaded behind the monotony and drudgery of daily life then mix it up, a bit; for three days in a week follow a fixed pattern and the rest of the three days wake up a little late, do a little less work and keep one day as a cheat day. This is your life, even though discipline is essential it cannot take precedence over your happiness.
The reason why we are scared to be disciplined is that it appears to attack your freedom. But what it mainly tries to do is help us achieve our goals in more systematic manner.
The topper at your school or college, if she isn’t a genius of some kind, is probably really hard working and that goes hand in hand with discipline. She knows what she wants and is following a systematic order to achieve it. The difference between her and the other average students is her discipline.
Now, you have probably heard the word a million times already and it does not make a difference to you; but remember that topper at your school and the over- eager worker who gets her work done on time. The difference between her and you is just a matter of you doing your work in a systematic manner.
How will you keep track of your work, if you are not disciplined? All the good ideas that pop in your head will wither away without seeing the light of day.
All that is trying to be said here is – discipline is essential or our parents wouldn’t have tried to hammer it in our head. The only difference between them and us is that we choose to weld it in our own way. Although, that only holds true for some cases. We just need to do what we do best with discipline, or how else will we achieve it?
Leave a Reply