Self discipline seems to have dropped out of our culture as an admirable trait. The way successful celebrities are presented in our society can fool us into believing that great success is easy - almost like a product you can buy off the shelf.

But prolonged self discipline is the reality behind the appearance. When you go to see a movie you don't see the thousands of hours of effort that went into it, of the labour of sweat and blood. Our own music sensation A.R. Rehaman said it had taken him twenty years to become an overnight success. Research shows that the single most important element in the success of musicians is the amount to time they spend practicing. Innate talent may be important but not as vital as sustained effort and application - self discipline is what truly forges success in life.

Self discipline drives success

Any success in life needs the nutrition of self discipline to see the light of day. If you want to succeed, not feeling like doing something is not a good enough reason to avoid doing it. Anyone who only does things they feel like doing is going nowhere fast; like watching TV instead of getting on with that novel or staying warm at home instead of going to the football ground to practice.

Give yourself the respect you deserve

Developing iron self discipline for success means you are giving your yourself and your goals true and proper respect. Self discipline is the active agent that drives inspiration into reality.

Dear Raman,

The five pillars of self-discipline are: Acceptance, Willpower, Hard Work, Industry, and Persistence. If you take the first letter of each word, you get the acronym “A WHIP” — a convenient way to remember them, since many people associate self-discipline with whipping themselves into shape.

Regards,

Gdavid

Dear Raman, gdavid & members,

How do young children learn self-control, self-help and ways to get along with others ? Such learning occurs when parents and teachers of infants and toddlers are continuously involved in setting limits, encouraging desired behaviors, and making decisions about managing children.

When making these decisions, caregivers often need to ask themselves these questions: Am I disciplining in a way that hurts or helps this child's self-esteem? Will my discipline help the child develop self-control?

So self-discipline starts from the beginning of the child's growth which has to be nurtured continously.

regards

sheetal

Dear Sheetal

After giving your view point you summed it up by saying, "So self-discipline starts from the beginning of the child's growth which has to be nurtured continously."

Well that is the most ideal way of doing it, but with couples working these days
(one wonders if they themselves are self-disciplined) they have just enough time to pamper their chidren, and there is not much time left for them to keep their discipline im check, then where is the time for them to get their children to learn self-discipline. This is the scenario in the upper strata, the upper middle class, the middle class and to some extent in the lower middle class.

In the upper strata of the society they are so busy making money and attending socio-cultural functions, attending parties or hosting parties or going to the gym or for a jog etc., they have hardly anytime for the kids.

In the upper middle class and the middle class, the couple have to go to wrok to make both ends meet or to live slightly comfortably, where as in the lower middle calss they manage to make their living within the income they earn, and from there they try togrow. it is in this strata of society that you find the parents and the children are disciplined so they can instill self discipline in their kids. a large number of service men, govenrment or private teacher etc., fall in this braacket. They are naturally disciplined and so they help their children attain self-discipline.   

Warm regards

Raman