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8 I The Best Online Education System in the world
WHY SELF-DISCIPLINE IS NEEDED
Marian Baltazar
Class of 1980, University of the Philippines College of Manila
AB Political Science
With the rise of globalization, the sophisticated life that we are faced with and what we have right now, we will
not wonder why self-discipline is needed in a person’s life. For us to get hold of ourselves and be able to control
our mind, we should therefore develop discipline. A way to control our mind is through the practice of self-
discipline. Nobody can prosper in life without it. We first learn discipline in our homes because our family
serves as our first training ground for us to learn this craft.
Discipline does not only mean to adhere or abide to certain rules or norms of social life but it is also what a
person imposes on himself. This doesn’t only mean to himself but it also means that it his duty to God, society
and to some other institutions. This means that you could succeed in life if you have discipline for it demands
strict control over one’s rights and privilege. Without discipline, our social life would be chaotic; therefore it is
vital to a successful life. Even Mahatma Gandhi has stressed the need of its importance in people’s lives.
We can find it anywhere, everywhere, and even in the simplest thing that we do. Like for instance when we
walk or cross along the road, when we ride a bus or buy tickets over the counter, with whatever we are doing
or getting a work done in the office, and as citizens we are obliged to show some discipline. It is not only of
prime importance in every sphere of a man’s life but it also serves as the backbone to the political life of a
nation. In this society that we live in right now, we love to satisfy or gratify ourselves right away that is why
everywhere you go, everything seems to be instant, like the Fast Food, instant noodles, instant coffee, instant
food, all to our heart’s desire. Then, you will ask yourself, why do we still need self-discipline?
There can be a thousand and one reasons why self-discipline is needed but I guess we can come up with some
reasons that can be of help to us. Probably, these reasons are the most basic that we can come up with. Self-
discipline helps you build your character and your inner strength for it helps you control your instinctive drive
and even your appetite too. More importantly, it helps you build your integrity and credibility as in you are able
to resist temptation. You can achieve anything when you have self-discipline because when you keep on
practicing this, you will achieve mastery in using your skills and attain success in life. Actually you can live a
better life with self-discipline for the simple reason that you can manage your finances better and know your
priorities in life. Lastly, with self-discipline, you can maximize your happiness because with delayed gratification,
success is sweeter and happiness can be deeper. All these rational can make you conscious of the inner
awareness of why self-discipline is needed in our life.
Questions for discussion:
1. Will you be credible enough knowing that you can discipline yourself? Explain your answer.
2. Do you think self-gratification can serve as a hindrance for you to attain self-discipline? Why or why not?
3. How do you define self-discipline? Elaborate on your answer.
4. Do you think you can attain anything when you have self-discipline? Why is it so?
5. Do you believe in self-discipline? If yes, do you practice it? If not, why don’t you practice it? State your
reasons.