In life, you do not just do something because you want to do it or because you feel the impulse to do it, but have you asked yourself if it will be the right thing to do? There are times when people may feel the urge to do certain things or the impulse to act in a particular way, but if it will have negative consequences on the person's goal and dream, then the urge should be resisted. So from this, you will agree with me that self-discipline is the ability or capacity to have control over one's actions, their emotions, urges, preferences, etc, so as to achieve a particular thing or for a greater course.
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Everyone that has made success or actualized their dreams has one thing in common - that is discipline. Of course, in order to attain certain heights, sacrifices have to be made and these may come in form of disciplining yourself and denying yourself of momentary pleasures, so as to attain a more permanent pleasure - the pleasure that comes with achieving your goals. For example; as a student, you may have books to read and a party to attend, but if you weigh in on the options, you will realise that your book is more important and holds a greater good than the party. So you will have to sacrifice the pleasure of the party to read your books, and then earn the pleasure of passing with flying colours.
Self-discipline can come in a lot of ways and we shall explore some of them. Firstly; discipline your sight. More often than not, what you watch tends to influence how you think, act, relate, and perceive the world around you, and this will definitely influence the result you see in life. This is why you should exercise discipline in what you watch. Always remember that everything is not meant for you to watch, so you should be selective of where your attention is focused on. More so, what you will not want to do, it is pointless watching it being done. So beware.
Another very crucial aspect to exercise discipline is in what you say and how you use your mouth. A lot of people have destroyed what took them years to build just by the utterances of their mouths. The truth is that relationship can crash just by words. Words, as they say, are more powerful than can ever be imagined. You do not just make careless utterances because you can use words, but you need to be careful and cautious with the words of your mouth, so that you will not become your own undoing.
Before you speak, you need to understand that the words will definitely have consequences, so you have to apply wisdom and caution to your words. This is because your relationship with people can be affected by words. Of course, human bridges can be burnt just by the wrong choice of words, and you may need that particular bridge in the future. This reminds me of the words of one of my mentors:
A successful person always knows how to control their words.
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In addition to disciplining your words. You should also learn to discipline your appetite, your pleasures, and other desires. You have to know that business should be treated as business and should not be mixed with pleasure. One of the major undoings of many people in this era is that they try to mix business with pleasure and they end up blowing up everything. It is true that you need to make out time to play and to satisfy your pleasures, but you should not sacrifice your work for it. You should play after you have worked, not the other way round.
The final area you need to consider disciplining is the company you keep. The truth is that a wrong company can mar what you have spent your life to build. It is true that you may not be able to discipline your friends to tilt towards goodness, but you can discipline yourself not to be friends with them. After all, friendship is not by compulsion nor a mandate, but it is purely by choice. So use your choice well and do not company with people that will take your life backwards, or the people that will distract you from going after your goals.
Thanks for reading