Discipline is not a one off act: Make it a lifestyle

About 10 minutes before my opportunity clock went off, my eyelids started to open. Almost suddenly, I was wide awake. It had been very deeply refreshing sleep.

I continued to lay down, waiting for the clock and it finally rang. I got out of bed to ready myself for the gym. Because I was up early, there was no traffic jam on the roads. I noticed that the early morning economy was already up and busy with the women, who make and sell breakfast for early risers already setting up their stalls along the streets even though it was still dark.

At the gym floor, the cleaners were already cleaning the building. For the most part, the gym was empty and the gentleman at the reception was drifting in and out of sleep at the counter. One of my colleagues was already halfway her workout and she was sweating and puffing profusely. She is quite a disciplined one.

There is something deeply profound about living a disciplined life. People who are disciplined in one area tend to carry that same level of discipline into very many other areas of their lives. People who wake up early, those who tame their bodily appetite tend to make bigger strides at life in general.

Discipline is seen in how someone treats their time and resources. People who regularly disregard other people’s time and resources tend to be short-circuited by events and then they say they are unlucky. I learnt many years ago, that opportunity lingers in the corridors of them that are prepared and preparation is birthed by discipline.  Discipline is not a one off act, it’s a lifestyle.

From the depths of my inner being, I continually pray for my children, that they understand, appreciate, value a disciplined life. These days, I watch quietly as my daughter wakes up very early each morning with diligence and consistency, all by herself without any prompting or pushing. I see her plan, arrange and wash her uniforms in succession, week after week.

It is almost unbelievable that she is the same child that used to drive her mother insane when being prepared for school, only a few years ago.

I like to be thorough and organised and I like to preplan most of my days. When I see children starting to plan their own days before hand and prepare for their projects accordingly, I feel encouraged. My younger child was at home for half term and I noted that he organises his belongings and lays his bed without prompting.

This is in direct contrast to the days of deep frustration when it felt like they would never do anything worthwhile. You would be fighting with children from dawn to dusk as a standard. As surely as the sun raising every morning, children grow and children mature.