DISCIPLINE HAS A BAD RAP

Discipline is such a unique word, it conjures up images of horrible “punishment” by schools to many and yet to others it is what ensures that things get done.  I cannot think of another word that conjures up so many conflicting emotions in so many people.  How people react to the word discipline depends greatly on the context it is being used in and how it is viewed in their life.

Definition from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discipline
1: punishment
2: obsolete : instruction
3: a field of study
4: training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character
5 a: control gained by enforcing obedience or order b: orderly or prescribed conduct or pattern of behavior c: self-control
6: a rule or system of rules governing conduct or activity

I have seen parents cringe and students cower when discipline was being discussed at “disciplinary” meetings when I was a teacher.  Yet in those same meetings when they were told that the student lacked discipline to complete their work or attend class, both the students and parents would chuckle and offer a variety of excuses.  It seems when discipline is related to possible punishment people view it very differently than when it is used to describe a personal trait.

Did I enjoy being “disciplined” while in school or the military (I had my share of opportunities), at the time “definitely not”.  I would much rather preferred not having gotten caught at whatever it was I did…but looking back on many of these “times”, I wasn’t actually punished (which is a different thing in my book), I was disciplined to teach me that there were consequences for my actions or sometimes my lack of action.

Discipline has become a positive thing in my life. It is what allows me to get through difficult situations, maintain the personal standards that I have chosen and provides me with the ability to improve myself academically or professionally.  Without discipline in my life, I would be much less focused on what I need to do versus what I want to do. They are not always the same thing and being disciplined is what I believe keeps me doing the right things, especially when it would be easier to do something else.

If there was more adherence to being disciplined in today’s world many of the scandals and other negative “stuff” that ends up in the news would not happen.  So here’s to the hope that future generations of leaders are more disciplined than many of today’s leaders.

Discipline has gotten a bad rap and people focus way too much on the punishment definition of the word.  I wish that people would focus more the other positive meanings that discipline should convey to everyone.  Remember discipline can be a good thing.

This work by Harold L. Shaw, Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.