Discipline is something that we have all experienced personally in different forms, seen used on others, and is also something that many of us will go on to use later in life, both in the form of self-discipline and as something to keep children and even employees in check. It is essential to life as we know it, and we need it in its many different forms in many different situations.
The first reason that discipline is so important is that we all need to exercise self-discipline to be successful in life. Self-discipline can mean very different things to different people; for students, for example, self-discipline is often about motivating yourself and making yourself concentrate on your studies and get your assignments in on time. For working people, it can be as simple as getting up on time every morning, however tired you may be and how much you may hate your job, getting to work on time and doing your job. Without this kind of self-discipline, people would not be able to enjoy academic success, or be successful in their careers either.
Self-discipline is also required for dieters and anyone doing regular exercise, because given the chance, most of us would prefer to be lazy rather than get up and exercise, and eat burgers and fries rather than healthy food. Without it, even more people would be fat and unhealthy, and a lack of self-discipline in some people certainly contributes to the obesity crisis.
Discipline is also something that needs to be used on others where necessary. If parents didn’t discipline their children when they were naughty, children wouldn’t grow up knowing right from wrong, or be able to become productive members of society who contribute to the system. Equally, schoolteachers need to be able to dish out punishments to children who don’t behave themselves. Without discipline in the classroom, there would be a great deal of disruption and nobody would ever learn anything. Indeed, teachers who struggle to command the respect of students and who fail to use discipline effectively will often have trouble even making themselves heard in a classroom.
In the workplace, discipline is also essential to maintaining a hierarchy and dealing with employees who do not follow company policies and procedures, regularly arrive late or not at all, or treat their co-workers unfairly. Then, you have to consider that without discipline, there would be no law enforcement. Murderers would be roaming the streets and everybody would be stealing from each other, because there would be no consequences for their actions.
Discipline acts as a vital deterrent to stop children being naughty, people from missing work, and even potential criminals from stealing and killing, and for this reason it is vital in human society.
