I’m guessing from the title of this article that you probably think you’re in for some super militant lecture. Believe me if you had told me a few months ago I would be writing a piece with “Learning Discipline” as the title, I probably would have laughed in your face. Truth be told, I have never been good with any kind of rules or regulations. As a child I would crumple up my homework or always take an extra cookie even when told not to. I even remember one specific instance where I was reading Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret during a math lesson in 5th grade, and my teacher told me to put my book away to which I replied, “But math is stupid and this book is not”. I was swiftly sent to the principal’s office. I often joke with my friends about what a disobedient child I was, and one of my friends once said to me, “Well, you always just did what you wanted even if it wasn’t what you were told”.
Throughout my adolescence, and honestly up until the last few months, I have always struggled to do the things I am supposed to do. I found myself procrastinating papers until I was breaking into cold sweats at 11:59 pm desperate to get the assignment in on time, or going to bed at 2 am because I wanted to stay up reading romance novels. My days grew stressful and tiresome because I struggled to balance my duties with my desires. Finally, one day this last October I decided I had had enough. I was going to change my habits, because, at the end of the day, what I do is completely in my control.
My friend and I decided that we would go to the gym every day and run one mile. Now I have never been very athletic, and I did not play a sport in high school. However, it was not so much the exercise I craved as proving to myself that I could show up every day and do something difficult without giving up. At first this task proved to be extremely hard; however, as the days and weeks went by, one mile became two, and then three, and now I am proud to say that I will be running a half marathon in April. I grew to love running. Not only has it added so much to my life and health, but I am also just so proud of myself that I committed to doing something and succeeded.
In terms of academics, I also decided this semester that I was giving up procrastinating. No more going out with friends when I have unfinished homework due for the next day. This may not seem like a big leap for people, but actually putting my phone down and completing my assignments in a timely fashion, has allowed my actual free time to become much less stressful and much more enjoyable. I have also been getting a lot more sleep, and have overall become happier.
While for many people getting their assignments done without hours of procrastination, or running a mile at the Jo may not seem like an incredible feat, I am so happy that I made the choice to dedicate myself to becoming more disciplined. I can do anything I put my mind to, and in the end, despite some initial discomfort, the benefits of doing things I do not want to do almost always outweigh the detriments of not doing anything at all.