The Power of Self Discipline

Abe Silvennoinen

English 101, section 14

Instructor: Steve Krauel Exploratory Analysis and Synthesis [11/17/2015]

The Power of Self-discipline

"To abstain from the enjoyment which is in our power [and] to seek distant rather than immediate results, are among the most painful exertions of the human will.” said Nassau William Senior a 19th century English economist. There exists two super powers in this universe, that totally absolutely dictate and shape the future of mankind. This unequal competition between these powers is called the battle of the present self and the future self. Daniel Goldstein in his TED video presentation explained that when a man learns to find the ever absent future self in the present he can start to define his future. In addition he said that, “If you set goals for yourself and you're like a lot of other people, you probably realize it's not that your goals are physically impossible that's keeping you from achieving them, it's that you lack the self-discipline to stick to them.”

Because we need goals in order to make the future we seek, I believe that the power of self-discipline is the key in pleasing the future self and so doing shaping the future to the better. In this essay I explore the power of self-discipline in shaping my personal life, spiritual life and professional career. First I talk about the positive outcomes of successful implementation of self- discipline. Then I move unto talking about the concept of that value and finally I explain my plan to apply it to my personal life.

In his book Get It Done Andrew J. DuBrin mentions nine payoffs that self-discipline can bring to its practitioner. Most importantly self-discipline boosts higher productivity and quality of work. Andrew writes, “[that in most cases] self-disciplined workers outperform their less disciplined counterparts... reflect[ing] higher quality.” (p. 6.) Now, who is a manager that wouldn’t want this outcome from all of his team members? Self-discipline also leads to eight other outcomes: Better performance in school, enhanced reliability, more incisive problem solving, minimization of daydreaming on the job, better management of personal finances, better relationships with loved ones, avoiding altercations with the law and overcoming socioeconomic disadvantages and discrimination. To me, these examples by Professor DuBrin lay a nice foundation of the vision that one can achieve in applying the power of self-discipline. for one to get interested in learning more about self-discipline, it’s techniques and application to ones personal life.

What precisely is self-discipline, so that it could be practiced? Kimberly Richter in her New Era article about self-reliance gave probably the best definition on the subject, “Self- discipline