Can Discipline Be Gained?

Every monday, I make the same promises to myself. I will scroll less, sleep earlier, study harder and exercise more . The next day, all of my energy fades away and I found myself trying to convince myself that I will start again next monday. For years, I believed that being disciplined is something that people born with. However, one day I asked myself: Can discipline be gained? Due to this question I started to think differently.

Most of us think that discipline is a personality trait, something unchangeable. Especially on social media we see people who wakes up at 5 in the morning and goes for a walk, have their breakfast, get ready for school or work, etc. We often ask ourselves that how can these people do these, they must be so disciplined. But what if discipline is something that can be gained? When I started playing the piano after seven years, I can barely remember the piano. Day by day it started to become harder to play and understand it that I wanted to quit playing the piano. But I didn't quit, not because I was suddenly disciplined, because I loved playing the piano. Later on, it stopped feeling like it’s a torture. I started to rely on my routines, not my motivation.

Then I understand that discipline isn’t suffer, it’s self-control with right choices. People who seems to be so disciplined weren’t born that way, they build habits and obeyed them. They’ve planned their lives more efficiently when they are disciplined. It’s not like waking up in the morning with pure motivation, it’s about being able to show up even when you don’t feel like it. Also, don’t forget that discipline grows quietly, invisibly and through repetition. It’s like watering a bamboo tree for five years and after that five year it’s slowly starts to sprout. It’s a journey that involves difficulties and needs patience. Like a promise you give to yourself, even if it is a small one, and it slowly starts to build a chain. When you break a promise, it gets weaker. But don’t forget that you can rebuild it.

The Emotional Part of Discipline

There is also an emotional part of being disciplined that people don’t talk enough. Many people fail staying disciplined because their goals doesn’t mean anything personally to them. It’s hard to wake up early if you don’t have anything to study or care about. However, if you are doing it for a deeper or emotional reason it becomes something personal. It becomes something about love and you start doing it for yourself.

Discipline and Laziness

People often thinks that the opposite of discipline is laziness but I don’t stick with this statement. I believe that the real opposite of discipline is disconnection. When we forget the meaning of our goal, it starts to feel meaningless and distant. Remembering our goals can help us reconnect to our disciplined-mindset. Also, we have to remember that gaining a disciplined lifestyle is not a overnight process. Sometimes it may take a weak, a month, six months or even a year. So it takes time to gain discipline so don’t be too harsh on yourself.

In conclusion, discipline can be gained. Not as a overnight change, but as a process containing small changes and routines that becomes a habit. It’s something that grows in time. Every time you stand after failing and every time you do what you should, you prove that discipline can be gained. I no longer wait for the next monday, I start now because I learned that being disciplined is not giving up for your goals and to continue working for them.