Six Areas of Life that need discipline

What is discipline and which areas to discipline our lives to leave a legacy.

The Cambridge dictionary defines discipline as training that makes people more willing to obey or more able to control themselves, often in the form of rules and punishments if these are broken or the behaviour produced by this training. Self-discipline is “Your ability to listen to and take action based on your inner voice- regardless of how you feel, other influences, or temptations you face – is the self-mastery.”

Discipline creates good habits, habits make routines, and daily routines become who you are. Discipline helps you stop procrastinating. It also helps you manage your time better and achieve your goals. Discipline boosts your self-esteem, helps you master things, and makes you more reliable. It improves your ability to manage challenging emotions and reduce stress, and discipline in one area affects discipline in others. The value of discipline is the way to do what needs to be done. Not only does practice allow one to establish a positive action. It helps us train our minds and bodies, focus on goals, and regulate our emotions.

6 Areas of Life that need discipline

For us to achieve the benefits listed above, we need to discipline ourselves in the following areas:

The Discipline of the Body. Paul reveals in I Corinthians 9:27 that he kept his body under discipline. The body needs to be disciplined. It needs to be kept under control. Successful athletes discipline their bodies. They live by strict regimens. Everything is weighed according to whether it will help or hinder them in their pursuit of victory.
The Discipline of the Mind. Our minds have a great capacity for good or evil. Paul exhorts the Philippians to think about those things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable (Philippians 4:8). Dr. Pringle wrote,“The shape of our mind is the shape of our lives. When we fail to discipline our thoughts, we default to a negative mindset. We have to set our minds on the right course. Our mind, like an unattended garden, grows weeds choking out good plants. We can cultivate our minds by reading great books, having great speakers, meditating on beautiful things, speaking and writing things that demand the best thinking.”
The Discipline of the Eyes. There is a saying among the Swahili people of Kenya that ‘eyes have no curtains.’ Our eyes must be disciplined in what they are permitted to look at and read – especially nowadays. The story of King David watching Bathsheba taking a bath and the results of it was written for us to learn from. That is why Job says: “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl” ( Job 31:1). We have to make a covenant with our eyes about what television program to watch, what websites to visit and what else to avoid as our eyes are the gateway to our minds.
The Discipline of the Ears. The wisdom from Proverbs 18:15 says: “The mind of the prudent acquires knowledge, And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” (NAS). You must choose to discipline your ears to only listen to those things that will increase your knowledge. Needless to say, gossiping, backbiting and tearing others down does not form part of what adds knowledge.
The Discipline of the Mouth. James said: “But no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison” ( James 3:8). It is important that you to discipline your mouth. Be aware that your jokes may leave many laughing but someone hurt. It is important, too that you discipline your mouth not to tell a lie, a thing that often happens when one seeks acceptance in a group. “We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.” James 3:2. In his book, “Top 10 Qualities of Great Leaders”, Dr. Pringle wrote thatour mouth is powerful. It’s like a loaded gun, a stick of dynamite, a canon, a bent bow and arrow, a sword, a trowel, a pen, a pouring river. All these can be good or bad, builders or destroyers, creators of life or bringers of death. It depends on the user.
The Discipline of Accountability. Many people go through life without trying to account for their actions. No wonder such people do not accomplish much. Whether in the workplace, church or even family, we must remain accountable to focus on our goals. Imagine a work situation where you can show up whenever you feel like it; very little would be achieved. Life is the same. If we are not accountable, chances are we won’t accomplish much or leave a legacy.