Discipline
I am taking a bit of a departure here in taking the whole of what discipline is from Focus3.com. It so meshes with my concept of discipline. What Does Discipline Mean? - Focus 3
To understand what discipline really is and what it really means, let’s look at the origin of the word to find its intent and true form. The root word of discipline is “disciple,” which comes from the Latin word discipulus meaning “student.” Most people believe a disciple is a follower (probably because of the religious context), but in reality it means student—as in, “one who studies.”
The word “discipline” is from the Latin word disciplina, meaning “instruction and training.” It is derived from the root word discere—”to learn.”
So what is discipline? Discipline is to study, learn, train, and apply a system of standards.
What isn’t discipline? Discipline is not rules, regulations, or punishment. It is not compliance, obedience, or enforcement. It is not rigid, boring, or always doing the same thing.
Discipline is not something others do to you. It is something you do for yourself. You can receive instruction or guidance from one or many sources, but the source of discipline is not external. It is internal.
Discipline is a choice… your choice. It is a decision. Better yet, all of your decisions. The distinction between discipline being an external dynamic or an internal dynamic, a mandatory rule or a personal choice, is important. Understanding this at a deeper level is your gateway into a better, more discipline-driven life.
Do you see how it works? When you understand discipline as a choice, you are in control—not anyone or anything else. More discipline, more choice, more control. Better options. Higher standards. Improved skill. More flexibility. Less discipline, less choice, less control. Fewer options. Lower standards. Inadequate skill. Less flexibility.
My Application of Discipline. When I decided to start writing Shadow Tier, I had a full-time job as the head of a ten-person software and hardware team. With company HQ in Virginia and my living in Colorado my workday usually started at 7am and went until 3pm mountain time or later. Zoom calls with customers in the UK and Australia often extended workdays to 4:30am and 9pm.
Knowing myself and having proven over the years that my best work is done between 5am and Noon, I determined the only choice for me was to wake up at 4:30am to write. I kept to the discipline of waking up at 4:30am from Nov 2019 – Jun 2022. Now that I am retired, I have become a lazy no good version of my former self and wake at 5:30 as my new discipline. My ROI from this discipline has been and continues to be worth every penny of personal investment.
But what about the application of personal discipline when the ROI is well into the future, if at all? When I started, I had no idea if I would get published or not. Let’s explore the positive results you can achieve by delaying gratification for expectation of more in the future in another installment of Steve’s 2 cents.