Discipline – The Art of Purposefullness

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A goal to aim at.

 

“For a man to conquer himself is the first and noblest of all victories. ”

– Plato

You are so dear to me. Yeah! You in particular. So anytime I put my fingers on the pads to type, I know I can’t turn out any ordinary piece than that which will hit some chords and pull some strings through your cerebrum. And let me extend ubiquitous appreciations to you for sticking with “Notchinyou” for the many days you’ve known this blog. Keep believing, keep visiting, keep reading, keep commenting, and keep sharing the awesome stuff your inspiration keeps unearthing on this blog.

Should I call this an extension of the previous post? Does it stand on its own though it carries possibly a similar future to what we had in the previous piece? Well. Well. Well. Not to go down the track of being loquacious for no reason, lets hit some nails on their heads.

I stand to applaud you on the extravagant effort you made at reading in entirety, the 3000 words of “start, pause, don’t stop – the subtle principle of giving it a try”. If you didn’t get to it, or if it had not enough firepower shares to get to you, then try hitting that blue button in the preceding line before you step foot into this meal of a piece. If you however had a good read of it, and haven’t realized any change in attitude, actions and reactions, then maybe, truth be told, you aren’t ready for this piece and success is not really a fate you fancy. Reading is a thing but its impact on the life is more reason why some of us painstakingly write. To modify and affect changes in life, not just to pass information or to exercise a God-given ability. This would however be a bit more mid-toned and a bit relaxed.

Starting, for its several reasons may be important, maybe more important, but maintenance of a habit serves the cake right with its crimson. How many times have you hit the road with the aim of laying down some kilos and ended up giving in on the fourth day? Look through those pile of books and you would realize, maybe only three paragraphs of the first few have received a read. Let me be a bit soft here. We are in June, five months already down the drain, no year has by reason of its being afforded humans more time at personal development than this. How well are the resolutions of December 2019 faring in the year where they were to have been realities? What happened to that plan to have a stable relationship this year? To build more income sources? To turn hobbies into jobs and plans into actions? To build a better spiritual life and maybe be a better and more successful person? Would you count yourself having retardedly grounded yourself on the road that elongates into failure? No… don’t feel bad just yet. It’s all not spoiled.

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Look back at all of the above and you would reconcile that to some extent, you made a wonderful attempt at starting majority of things on that list. You left the old life in its misery, set yourself on the plate destined for glory, but all too soon, those rockets lacked the boost to launch them on the space of completion – the conduit of Discipline. A breathtaking set off doesn’t guarantee a glorious end – discipline draws the lines.

THE MEAL OF DISCIPLINE:
Run the word through various search engines and an umpteen number of definitions would erupt. The likes of; a systematic method of obtaining obedience, self-control etc. Akin to a soup meal, many characters, bearing bitter, sour, salty, sugary and sweet characters combine under great effort to result in a splendid dish. The characters which feed into discipline may all not be as easily surmountable standing alone, but their combined effort leaves much to be desired.

What Discipline is:
1. It is an enforced behaviour : If you ever thought just starting an idea would set everything in place, then you’ve hit a wrong spot. Discipline does not accept friend requests from spontaneity. Everything about discipline is enforced by some force. You would need to have a control point which puts checks and balances to ensure what has to be done is done – whether from within or without. Discipline has to be enforced. It does not happen on its own.

2. It is painstakingly requisite of consistency : There are times when going forward at that idea seems most wicked, most unpleasant, like the worst decision ever. When you start feeling that way, know that is when to activate the internal and external annals of discipline. She wouldn’t fail if you call her in at the right time, but it should be with consistency. She yields power untold. When every part of your body feels painful. When all the muscles feel like tearing apart and they can’t afford a smile to the best jokes. When quitting seems the best option, discipline will be sitting on the peel at the next station, waiting on your call. Do not disappoint her. Pass through the pain consistently. Systems begin to accept you as self when they realize how consistent you have been with what you started as a goal. A one-time/one-off armed robber is not much a concern to society as a consistently seasoned petty thief. His nuisance stems from is consistency and not the magnitude of his evil.

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21 Ways to Achieve Lasting Happiness and Success

3. Discipline is responsibility :Let me share this excerpt with you from Brian Tracy’s The Power of Self-Discipline. “There is a direct relationship between the acceptance of responsibility and the amount of personal control you feel you have over your life. This means the more you accept responsibility, the greater sense of control you experience… Never Complain, Never Explain. It is not possible to imagine a true leader who whines and complains rather than taking action when problems and difficulties arise. This sense of “response-ability” is the mark of the highly developed personality.” If you are leaving things to the wind, then you are not ready to be disciplined enough to take charge and make things happen the way you really want them to happen. Where you find discipline, seek also responsibility.

 

“What lies in our power to do, lies in our power not to do.”

– Aristotle

4. Discipline works on mechanisms : Success versus Failure Mechanisms: your brain has both a success mechanism and a failure mechanism, the failure mechanism is the temptation to revert and follow the undisciplined path of least resistance, to do what is fun and easy rather than what is hard and necessary. Your failure mechanism operates automatically throughout your life, which is the major reason why most people fail to fulfill their individual potentials. Note, it is the easy way to go, best feeling, relaxed and undemanding path. Who hates to have it all rosy and easy? But just be careful.
Your success mechanism is however triggered by a goal fueled mainly by discipline. It therefore takes discipline to break, override the failure mechanism and keep the success mechanism running. This takes more work, more concentration, less of rest and a bit more of muscle stretch. Resting on your laurels a day could reset the whole functional set up and activate the failure mechanism all over again.

5. Discipline is perfected in routine. When what seemed earlier difficult to do now becomes second nature, that is when discipline has been perfected in you. This may take a while, but when you realize not doing what you found unpleasant to do a while back now makes you feel uncomfortable or what you found more difficult to do now comes naturally to you, then discipline has been perfected in that area. This is a sure check to ascertain how disciplined you have been in an area of life.

What Discipline isn’t:
1. It isn’t a punishment. Being disciplined at a task or project doesn’t mean throttling yourself to death. It doesn’t mean whipping the life out a vibrant soul. That is to say, being disciplined at the wrong ideas and aims would rather compound and complicate an untoward result. The fruit of discipline isn’t to leave you with regrets and a feeling of disappointment. If this happens, then the reasons for which her services were employed were rather destined for the odd. Before you become disciplined at an act or idea, make sure its outcome would be worth the while.

2. It isn’t compromising. If you begin to let loose on the principles upon which your success mechanisms run, you start to feel discipline is losing its grip on your life. Discipline thrives in the perfect law of strictness. Keep to the training regime, keep to the nutritional list, keep to the saving schedule, do not drift from the period for the quiet time, let not those books meant to be read gather dust, don’t give tomorrow the benefit of the doubt. Don’t say I am resting small when it is actually time to be praying. Disorderliness doesn’t fuel discipline right. Great athletes who have been able to stay on top of the game for years, do so not only based on the talent they yield, but by the breathtaking discipline they cultivate. You really do see the difference in body stature and build when many of these footballers retire from active football. The well-built, well-shaped, swift and savvy sportsman of yesterday, drifted from the strict routines of discipline and the result is a fat-bellied, ball-like rounded figure with little or no physical ends to please.

“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.”

– Jim Rohn

Why focus on discipline?

It’s a Rare Phenomenon: if you come across a man, perfect in discipline, bow to the power he yields. He’s a great haven an architect of discipline. The quantum of work needed to make the soul, spirit and body of a man disciplined, renders her a rare gem to come across.

To Sign Off
To the wonderful youth out there who would chance upon this post. I know how talented you are and how enthusiastic you might be about some goals and aspirations in life. Maybe you have already made a leap start to getting to those goals. Let this be the time you take a pause and give discipline a good consideration. The initial rush of blood and vigor which lead you to start the goal up isn’t going to be enough to see you to its end. Aim at discipline and the glory of the goal thereof would be apparent.

Be disciplined in all endeavours. Discipline is a must. Discipline is a prerequisite.

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31 thoughts on “Discipline – The Art of Purposefullness”

  1. This is a beautiful post. Well said. Discipline is a must in all spheres of life. May we have the courage to pursue it relentlessly until it becomes a part of us. It’s not easy though but it’s doable. Thank you for this inspiration ✊👌✌️🤗

  2. This post has been really timely; the word discipline has been a recurring reminder in my mind/spirit over the past couple of days.
    A word in season indeed!

  3. Discipline is the quality of being able to control all unnecessary plans distracting you to achieve your ambitions in life. Let discipline be your power. Well digested Obed.

  4. Great word…… it makes me think about the way I sign my personal emails.
    If nothing changes, then nothing changes.

    Growth is the great separator between those who succeed and those who do not. John Maxwell

    You cant grow unless you are disciplined
    Kevin

  5. This was a very thoughtful and inspiring post. While learning and practicing spiritual, mental and physical discipline is important through one’s entire life, it is especially important with current world events. Having discipline during a lockdown – a unique experience for most of us – can help us accomplish goals that we would never have the time or situation to do otherwise. Thank you for this post. Don

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