Most of us struggle to bring some discipline into our day-to-day life. Few people can manage to live a very disciplined life, but most of us struggle. We all want to exercise regularly, but find some excuse not to do it, want to read books, but watch more TV, we want to eat healthy food, but can't resist the temptation of junk food. We try to get some motivation to bring this much-needed discipline which can make our lives better. Some find a remedy somewhere to overcome this problem, but most just keep on struggling for that much-needed discipline.
I feel the major problem here is that we always look for solutions outside as if the problem is imposed on us because of some external force. The actual problem is that I indulge in all these not-so-good (or bad) habits myself no one forces me to do these things. I prefer to eat unhealthy food, and I choose to watch TV instead of doing exercise so it should be me who need to believe that this is wrong and should be changed rather than someone else telling me to do this. As long as I feel that I am a victim of these bad habits and not the perpetrator who is doing this I will always blame those habits but not myself for whatever effect they have on me. Smoking, eating a lot of sugar, and watching a lot of TV can have a bad effect on health (sedentary lifestyle), we all know this. So, why do we still do these things? I agree that some of these things are really addictive and sometimes it's really difficult to control but the truth is we all know the bad effects of these habits and still, we do it. There are many articles, research papers, and books that explain the side (or bad) effects of these things on our health, most of us read about them, and we are aware of these things but still fail to act accordingly. Rarely any of us is forced into these habits, we all choose them ourselves. Aggressive marketing by food companies and heavy advertising affect our minds and influence our choices but I feel all this happens mainly because lack of self-discipline.
The initial part of our life is often spent under some adult supervision, they protect us, they also try to introduce some discipline in our lives. This external force imposes some rules and regulations on us. Most of us learn many good habits while going through this process. Once their control on our lives gets reduced (college days and life after that) we are free to do whatever we want. This is where self-discipline becomes really important. Self-discipline is very necessary when there is no external control. When there is no external force or pressure that can stop you from doing something (right or wrong) then self-discipline plays a major role. It's only our own mind which has ultimate authority, it controls our reactions to every stimulus from our environment. There are many laws, rules, and regulations but still, people commit crimes and break laws, that's why I feel self-discipline is a must for everyone as external constraints can only help so much. Self-discipline teaches us how to behave, and what is proper or improper under given circumstances. Patience, tolerance, and humility are some of the qualities that are becoming rare and rare. External force or pressure works only up to a certain extent, no one can force anyone to be humble or respect others' opinions. This has to come from that person's mind. Any number of rules or laws can not eradicate all corruption or discrimination from our society, only self-consciousness and self-discipline can do this, that's why self-discipline is the best discipline.
I feel the major problem here is that we always look for solutions outside as if the problem is imposed on us because of some external force. The actual problem is that I indulge in all these not-so-good (or bad) habits myself no one forces me to do these things. I prefer to eat unhealthy food, and I choose to watch TV instead of doing exercise so it should be me who need to believe that this is wrong and should be changed rather than someone else telling me to do this. As long as I feel that I am a victim of these bad habits and not the perpetrator who is doing this I will always blame those habits but not myself for whatever effect they have on me. Smoking, eating a lot of sugar, and watching a lot of TV can have a bad effect on health (sedentary lifestyle), we all know this. So, why do we still do these things? I agree that some of these things are really addictive and sometimes it's really difficult to control but the truth is we all know the bad effects of these habits and still, we do it. There are many articles, research papers, and books that explain the side (or bad) effects of these things on our health, most of us read about them, and we are aware of these things but still fail to act accordingly. Rarely any of us is forced into these habits, we all choose them ourselves. Aggressive marketing by food companies and heavy advertising affect our minds and influence our choices but I feel all this happens mainly because lack of self-discipline.
The initial part of our life is often spent under some adult supervision, they protect us, they also try to introduce some discipline in our lives. This external force imposes some rules and regulations on us. Most of us learn many good habits while going through this process. Once their control on our lives gets reduced (college days and life after that) we are free to do whatever we want. This is where self-discipline becomes really important. Self-discipline is very necessary when there is no external control. When there is no external force or pressure that can stop you from doing something (right or wrong) then self-discipline plays a major role. It's only our own mind which has ultimate authority, it controls our reactions to every stimulus from our environment. There are many laws, rules, and regulations but still, people commit crimes and break laws, that's why I feel self-discipline is a must for everyone as external constraints can only help so much. Self-discipline teaches us how to behave, and what is proper or improper under given circumstances. Patience, tolerance, and humility are some of the qualities that are becoming rare and rare. External force or pressure works only up to a certain extent, no one can force anyone to be humble or respect others' opinions. This has to come from that person's mind. Any number of rules or laws can not eradicate all corruption or discrimination from our society, only self-consciousness and self-discipline can do this, that's why self-discipline is the best discipline.
Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.
[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]
No comments:
Post a Comment