“In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves… self-discipline with all of them came first.”
–Harry S Truman
In the quest to be (extra)ordinary, the greatest challenge is overcoming self. It is in self-discipline.
Self-discipline is not taught in the schools of today. In my experience, the education system seems to work against it. Self-discipline comes with practice, and it comes with personal responsibility.
Sports can teach some level of self-disciple. (This is why I love the sport of wrestling.) Even in sports, however, self-discipline comes from within. Great coaches and teammates can inspire discipline, but it takes a conscious effort on the part of the athlete. No one other than oneself can make the decision to show up and give one-hundred percent.
Parents can teach some degree of self-disciple. The practices we demand in the home help to train the child’s self-discipline. Consequences are a must, if a child is to become self-disciplined. Our children learn by our example. If we want them to be self-disciplined, we must first hold them accountable, and, second, we must hold ourselves accountable. We must be self-disciplined.
We become self-disciplined with practice. Daily practice. Our daily routine—growth plan, exercise, reading, etc.—train our self-discipline and sets the example for others.
We can exercise self-disciple, as well, through the practice of SIDCHA (pronounced: sid-cha), i.e., a self-imposed daily challenging healthy activity (Josh Spodek). Select just one healthy activity that is difficult to do and do it with a challenging regularity (once a day or more). As this becomes mastered, add another.
Identify your weaknesses and strengthen them through appropriate action and accountability. If you want your children to be self-disciplined, make them your own accountability partner. Teach them by example what others are not going to teach them.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento!
“Discipline doesn’t enable you to do things. Doing things consistently makes you disciplined.”—Joshua Spodek