Overview

   The objective of this unit on Self-discipline is for you to discover how to take control of your life by setting goals and taking concrete steps to achieve them.

     You will be exposed to new perspectives and new ways to lead a happier, healthier and more gratifying life; a life where you know what you want, set realistic goals and work to achieve them.

"Goal setting is the strongest force for human motivation. Set a goal and make it come true."

Definitions of self-discipline

     What is self-discipline? How can you achieve it? Self-discipline is one of the hardest quality to achieve in character education. Having self-discipline means that you must have the ability to control yourself. For example, instead of going out with your friends, you must be able to control yourself, make yourself stay at home and study instead of going out. Tough isn't is? Self-discipline means that you have to be very determined to achieve the goals you have set.To be a self-disciplined person, you have to be able to control your feelings and desires and also behave with responsibility without orders. Another example is, let's say your teacher gives you 2 months to complete a project. Do you have discipline to start early, make fully use of the two months to do your project? Or would you leave it to the last minute? (Like me :o)) If your answer is the first one, then you are a really self-disciplined person. ( This kind of person are really rare nowadays) or if your answer is to do it in the eleventh hour, then you should start practicing self-discipline. Finally, a self-disciplined person must have the ability to correct himself for the sake of improvement. As you can see, it is not easy to achieve self-discipline, but nothing is impossible, if you have the determination to learn to be self-discipline, then congratulations, you have already begun learning what is self-discipline.

Principles of Self-discipline

The principles of self-discipline can be summarized into four steps.

1) Set yourself a goal
2) Have a strong desire to achieve the goal 
3) Must persevere in spite of failure
4) Take things one step at a time. 

1) Set yourself a goal

As mentioned earlier, goal setting is very important in achieving self-discipline. In fact, it is the first and most important step. Without any goals, it is very difficult to get far. So,  before you start on a project or work, be sure to set a target, a goal.

2) Have a strong desire to achieve the goal

When you have a goal, make sure that you have the desire to fulfill it. What's the use of setting a goal when you don't even have the interest or determination to do it. For example, you promised yourself that you would go jogging every morning. But whenever the alarm clock rings at 6am, your first reaction is to turn it off. So, what's the use of setting a goal if this is the case?

3) Must persevere in spite of failure

How many times have we set ourselves a goal and did not complete it due to some difficulties we meet. Just ask any scientist in the world. Their answer would be " I can't remember." You see, failure is part and parcel of growing up. But does it means once, you fail, once your goal fails, you would abandon it. No! You must carry on, try again, find out why you couldn't achieve the goal in the first place. Then try to achieve your goal again. You must persevere in spite of any failures. Winners never quit! Quitters never wins!

4) Take things once step at a time

Finally, you must not rush things, if you have set yourself a goal, plan how you are going to achieve, once you have completed the first step of your "plan", then proceed to the second step. Try not to think so far when you have not even completed any step. Slow and steady is the key here. 

Benefits of self-discipline 

     You might ask yourself what self-discipline can give you. Firstly, self-discipline can give you a sense of pride. Not everyone has self-discipline. And when you accomplish a goal, you will get a sense of achievement. Also having self-discipline can also boost your confidence. When you have confidence, everything thing you do, will go smoothly. Most importantly, you can also acquire new skills and knowledge.

Case Studies

Have a look at this scenario and spare a moment to think about them.

Case 1

Self:
Abdul has decided to come punctually for class and has succeeded for 4 days but on Friday when the alarm clock sounds, he feels tempted to sleep another 10 minutes. He thinks, "It's Friday and I stayed up late working on my assignment. Besides, my other classmates don't all come on time anyway."

Case 2

Family:
Hock Seng had agreed to go to his grandmother's birthday celebration on Sunday but when he gets an assignment that he must submit on Monday, he has second thoughts and thinks of staying at home to do his assignment.

Case 3

Work:
Geetha' s boss has given her a task which she must finish by the following day. When lunch time approaches, her colleagues ask her to go to lunch with them. She knows they tend to eat and chat for a long time. If she wants to finish her work on time, she ought to eat a quick lunch and come back to the office. Yet she is very tempted to say yes as she wants to find out the latest office gossip.

     In case 1, Abdul is tempted to sleep for another 10 more minutes and be late, Here Abdul is not showing self-discipline. He has already set himself a goal to come to school punctually and he should make sure that he achieve it. Abdul is tempted because his friends also comes to school late, so he thinks why can't he? But what Abdul thinks is wrong. Other people have their own thoughts, we should not follow them blindly. Just because his friends come late, it doesn't mean that Abdul should also come late. If Abdul is self-disciplined enough, he would get up and go to school punctually.

     In case 2, we see Hock Seng thinking of not going to his grandmother's birthday, an event  which he has already agreed to go. If Hock Seng is self-disciplined, he should go to his grandmother's birthday and still find some time to do his homework. He can stay up late on Saturday to complete his assignment or could even bring his homework to his grandmother's house. You see, the problem can be easily solved if Hock Seng is determined enough to go to his grandmother's house.

     In case3, Geetha is tempted to go to lunch with her colleagues even though she knows that they take a long time and she wouldn't be able to complete her work on time if she went. A self-disciplined person would have stayed behind and not go for lunch with her colleagues. If you have a schedule to meet, you should make sure you meet the deadline. This is what self-discipline is all about, being able to control your desires and feelings for something more important.