No evil propensity of the human heart is so powerful that it may not be subdued by discipline. – Seneca
“Did somebody say Squirrel?” Even squirrels can become distracted.
What does that mean?
This quote is about the end of excuses. “I couldn’t help myself.” Or “I knew it was wrong, but I was over-whelmed and did it anyway.” These are the excuses of people who have done the things that they should not have done, yet did anyway.
This quote says that discipline can handle anything the human heart can throw at it. While I might find room for an exception for true mental illness or deficiency, for all the rest of us, all we have are excuses and a lack of self-discipline, right?
We control our impulses, we control our desires. We behave ourselves within the confines of the rules of our society. We turn away from what is labeled as evil or detrimental to society, and do what is right, what is expected of us. The method of this self-denial is self-discipline, the basis of this quote.
Why is self-discipline important?
Just look at your average impulse-ruled small child. They see a toy, they take a toy. Ownership of the toy has nothing to do with it, only the want. The same goes for cookies or cupcakes, right? So why don’t most adults behave the exact same way?
Our self-discipline is what helps us as societies to not collapse into anarchy, rioting, and other less than pleasant situations. By keeping track of our urges, and curbing or limiting them as appropriate, we can live in peace as a society, a town, a social group, or even as a family.
Self-discipline is what helps us get done what we have to do first. Then we play, right? Self-discipline also helps us not snack so much between meals that we are too full to eat our meals. It also helps us behave properly around others and operate within our society.
Without self-discipline, can you imagine the difficulties we would have trying to continue as a civilization? Riots, looting, theft, and far worse happening on a daily basis. All because we couldn’t act properly, and use self-discipline to keep the evil inside us in check.
Where can I apply this in my life?
I do sincerely hope you already have a level of self-discipline. I hope that you can hold back and not kill someone because they insulted you. I hope that you can prevent yourself from simply grabbing and trying to leave with every trinket you see and covet.
Most of us have managed to keep the big sins under pretty good control. Most of us have difficulties with the little things. Avoiding snacks are hard, avoiding murder is pretty easy. At least it’s that way for me. How about you, what are your weaknesses when it comes to self-discipline?
I’ve been thinking about this topic quite a bit of late. I’m having difficulties again with snacking. One of my kids is having trouble remembering to do their homework. Trying to keep the discipline is taking some effort. How is it for you?
We all have days that are better and days that are worse. As long as we recognize our failures and work to improve them, I wouldn’t worry too much about the little failings. But that’s also a good place to start. Let’s take a look at some of those things in our lives.
Grab some paper and write down a few of the things you know you shouldn’t do (not necessarily evil, but at least not helpful), but often do anyway. It might be something like singing (badly) in the shower, chewing with your mouth open, or snacking between meals.
For each of your issues, write down how often you actually remember to not do it compared to when you remember to do it right. Is it 50/50? 20/80? Also note if there are particular times, circumstances, locations, or other contributing factors that make self-discipline exceptionally difficult.
The question becomes how to best deal with both the special circumstances, as well as the general difficulties of your issue. Pick one of the items on your list to start with, and let’s see what you can come up with. Take a moment and consider how you can help yourself with your self-discipline.
From my experience, my biggest difficulties are distractions. What can grab my attention and break both my concentration and my self-discipline? I try to make sure my most critical tasks are at times other than when the kids will need time from me. At work, I try to make blocks of time when I don’t answer phone or e-mail.
What can you do to help you with your self-discipline? How can you avoid the temptations, or at least minimize them? What can you do to avoid the kinds of situations that most often break your self-discipline?
Up to this point it’s all been a mental exercise. What can you do to make this something real? What can you do to take the first step, and get started on changing your life for the better? Have the self-discipline and get going! Do it sooner, rather than later.
From: Twitter, @philo_quotes
confirmed at : http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/l/luciusanna162765.html
Photo by Peter G Trimming
Great analyses, let’s hope and pray that most people just suffer from such small sins trying to fix them, not too far to the extent of committing murders, but in the middle range in which lay the majority of human, what if some of us have been through trails and errors during their life time, will it ever finish? some got the clue early and done, some loved the sin with cold blood to the last moment, and the rest remained struggling and suffering, when the day becomes like a year, minutes in heaven and months in hell or “at least that’s what they seem to be.
Thanks for the comment and your input.
Yes, it can be a struggle, dealing with the impulses coming from the darker side of ourselves. Some try to block that portion of themselves entirely, but find their rigid defenses are often overcome. Others try to ignore their darker side and pretend it isn’t there. There are some interesting theories on how to transform darker tinted energy into more useful energy. I haven’t read much about it, but there seems to be several schools of thought which run along those lines. There is always so much to learn out there!
What has worked best for me is to make the big decisions first. I know that I am very unlikely to be willing to take a human life, even in the most dire circumstances. Therefore I have learned how to shoot with great precision, and to fight unarmed against those who are armed. These skills allow me options to shoot non-vital areas, or fight to disarm or injure, not to kill. By making the big decision up front, I have been able to give myself other options. Also by making the decision up front that I consider life to be sacred, and not for me to take, what do you think the likelihood of me ever going into a murderous rage is?
Like I said, it’s worked for me, but one person does not a statistically valid sample make. As always, your mileage may vary.