Discipline: A dying personality trait?

I asked you 20 times to clean your room!

Cries a mother in frustration.

Why are you behind in your tasks?

Pleads the manager of an employee.

Chaos... The New Norm

It is all too common to witness - firsthand - the #habits of #complaining and #whining. Whether it be children too lazy to fulfill basic chores, or grown adults who seem to lack the #motivation to make concrete progress in life by simply NOT #gettingthingsdone, people are increasingly lacking the basic #personality #trait of #discipline.

What is Discipline?

I would define it as the following set of rules:

1. Discipline is being honest with yourself.
2. Discipline is #doing what is required to #achieve a #goal.
3. Discipline is doing what is required regardless of how you feel.
4. Discipline - as #Aristotle put it - "Is #freedom" (eventually).

A bit of a Rant

Bear with me, though you may sense frustration in the following statements they come from a good source; a source of #toughlove for my fellow #humans who particularly live in the #menaregion.

• Physical Issues: The state of our #physicalwellbeing - in the #Mena region - is a disaster. Our kids are fatter, our men are weaker and our women are lazier (all three adjectives could just as easily have been applied to any gender or age).

• Mental Issues: Our #mindset has become that of contradicting forces such as self-loathing on one end of the spectrum to being self-obsessed on the other. Our priorities have been flipped upside down as to what truly matters in life.
• Spiritual Issues: Our #faith has unfortunately declined in priority due to the fast paced lifestyle filled with menial distractions that - if you think about it - are not worthy of our time (Youtube shorts anyone?).

A life without discipline is a life without a clear purpose and direction.

What to do?

Between us, I think the vast majority of us know what needs to be done. I'm about to overuse a modified version of Nike's slogan:

• Have that presentation due next week? Just do it, despite how you feel.
• Did your mom ask you for that favor? Just do it, despite how you feel.
• Need to get your @$$ in the gym more often? Just do it, despite how you feel.
• Always wanted to have a business of your own? Just do it, despite how you feel?

Sometimes a reminder of good old fashion discipline is all that's needed. This article is a reminder to myself before anyone else.

Let's go #MENA region! May all your days be filled with some powerful disciple.