My father taught me that only through self-discipline can you achieve freedom. Pour water into a cup and you can drink. Without the cup, the water would splash over. The cup is discipline. --Ricardo Montalban
Discipline
It is no accident that the words discipline and disciple come from the same root. To be a disciple of any path, one must be disciplined. Life works best when we learn to discipline ourselves.
Discipline liberates rather than confines you. Discipline allows you to function with ease and grace. After years of practicing his strokes, a tennis player can hit the ball without having to think about it. What once took conscious effort is now second nature.
Unfortunately, many of us had discipline forced upon us as children. Naturally, we rebelled against an externally imposed structure. We were not shown that true discipline always comes from within, and the motivation for that urge is love. When we are doing what we love, when we are pursuing something that has meaning, discipline becomes naturally. As one Olympic athlete explained, "I don't mind working out every day. Because I love what I am doing, my training is not a burden but a joy."
Discipline is your ticket to freedom and path to excellence. Choose to be disciplined in all your endeavors and become the master of yourself and your life.
I'll make this a short one. I just noticed that the Post has been read 15 times and NO ONE included me, has responded. Just got a big chuckle over it. Wonder why?
Some things are just very well said, and pretty complete. The only thing I could add is that working this AA 12 Step program takes discipline too. I used to also think that 'discipline' meant like punishment as correction,, but now I'm more into 'discipleship' too.
God bless you all,
amanda
__________________
do your best and God does the rest, a step at a time
Its Monday morning here, and have to confess I had kind of an Allergic Reaction to the word Discipline yesterday.
But today is a new day, and I want to use that thought a lot in today, I had put it in my pocket yesterday, to keep and use, and sure enough its what I want today.
Managing my emotions, managing a good orderly direction today sounds like a plan, for this Monday Morning. Did not feel an adversion to the word Discipline when I woke this morning and maybe a day late in just saying......... Thank You for the Post!
Enforced discipline explained properly teaches self discipline. Self discipline is the only thing that gets me out of bed in the morning! As an Ex member of the British Armed Forces, it was probably less a matter of self discipline and more being terrified of the Regimental Seargeant Major!
A few years ago I used to teach Rock climbing at a resedential center in North Wales (Miles from anywhere).
The groups of children that came to the centre were in the majority, inner city kids that had never been on the countryside before, many had never seen the sea!
Usually the first couple of days were hard work, the kids were rebelling against total strangers telling them what to do. Day was usually the turning point when they realised that if they failed to follow instructions they would get hurt. (Don't get me wrong, the instructors did'nt hurt them but if you fall off a 20 meter cliff that you've been told to stay away from, it hurts...for a short time!)
The kids were totally different people at the end of the course!
Random thought: Enforced discipline (not enforced physically) can scar you (mentally) for life, but the scars may be beneficial to you!
Ah well, got to go to bed, long day tomorrow cremating a bloke that hung him self on valentines day. Sad shit.
Bye for now
Chris.
__________________
"Computer games don't affect kids; I mean if Pac-Man affected us as kids, we'd all be running around in darkened rooms, munching magic pills and listening to repetitive electronic music." -- Kristian Wilson, Nintendo, Inc, 1989"
