Seeds of Discipline

person holding small beans

There are many definitions for “discipline” ranging from punishment to education, but practically speaking, discipline is the hidden work that you do when no one is looking. It is the blood, sweat and tears you shed in private. It is the sacrifice you make for the long-term payoff. It is the effort you put in for the intrinsic satisfaction of the work itself.

Discipline is the long nights and early mornings of studying so you can have the education to launch a productive career. It’s the countless hours of practice and hundreds of missed notes so others can enjoy a beautiful melody. It’s framing a house in the bitter cold so a family can have a home. It’s years of budgeting and saving so your family can enjoy security and experience financial independence. It’s thousands of miles run on dark, cold mornings so you have health and fitness. It’s years of sacrificing for and serving your spouse, including arguments and disagreements, so you can have a stronger marriage.

People notice the product of your discipline, but the practice itself is often hidden. In that sense, discipline is often suffering in quiet anonymity. While others will enjoy and maybe even celebrate the fruit, discipline is planting a seed that will remain buried and out of sight.

Keep planting those seeds.

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