Discipline. One word\u2026 thousands of opinions.<\/p>\n
Is it punishment? Is it obedience?<\/p>\n
Is it rules? Is it enforcement?<\/p>\n
Is it always doing the same thing? Is it always doing the right thing?<\/p>\n
Is it consistency? Is it doing what you\u2019re told?<\/p>\n
Is it rigid? Is it boring?<\/p>\n
Do you even get a choice? Do you just comply?<\/p>\n
To understand what discipline really is and what it really means, let\u2019s look at the origin of the word to find its intent and true form.<\/p>\n
The root word of discipline is \u201cdisciple,\u201d which comes from the Latin word discipulus meaning \u201cstudent.\u201d Most people believe a disciple is a \u201cfollower\u201d (probably because of the religious context), but in reality it means student\u2014as in, \u201cone who studies.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word \u201cdiscipline\u201d is from the Latin word disciplina, meaning \u201cinstruction and training.\u201d It is derived from the root word discere\u2014\u201dto learn.\u201d<\/p>\n
So what is discipline? What isn\u2019t discipline? Discipline is not something others do to you. It is something you do for yourself. You can receive instruction or guidance from one or many sources, but the source of discipline is not external. It is internal.<\/p>\n Discipline is not obedience to someone else\u2019s standards to avoid punishment. It is learning and applying intentional standards to achieve meaningful objectives.<\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Discipline is a choice\u2026 your choice. It is a decision.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Better yet, all of your decisions.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n The distinction between discipline being an external dynamic or an internal dynamic, a mandatory rule or a personal choice, is important. Understanding this at a deeper level is your gateway into a better, more discipline-driven life.<\/p>\n When you understand discipline as a choice, you are in control\u2014not anyone or anything else. More discipline, more choice, more control. Less discipline, less choice, less control.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Discipline. One word\u2026 thousands of opinions. Is it punishment? Is it obedience? Is it rules? Is it enforcement? Is it always doing the same thing? Is it always doing the right thing? Is it consistency? Is it doing what you\u2019re told? Is it rigid? Is it boring? Do you even get a choice? Do you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":89529,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[43],"tags":[5476],"class_list":["post-89527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-special-feature","tag-special-feature"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/SocialDiscipline.jpg?fit=2500%2C1338&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-nhZ","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-15 10:59:09","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89527"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89527\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/strong>
\nDiscipline is to study, learn, train, and apply a system of standards.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>
\nDiscipline is not rules, regulations, or punishment. It is not compliance, obedience, or enforcement. It is not rigid, boring, or always doing the same thing.<\/p>\n