Discipline and Punishment

The term “discipline” often stirs up negative associations. Maybe it triggers memories of being grounded or spanked as a kid. Perhaps it gives you flashbacks of your drill instructor during bootcamp. The problem with our associations is we can allow discipline to be viewed as punishment.

Punishment is a penalty. Discipline is refining. Punishment deprives. Discipline frees and leads to abundance.

But wait, doesn’t discipline deprive as well? If I am on a diet, I am deprived of foods I want to eat. If I am disciplined in my finances, I am deprived of spending the money I “have” to save. If I am exercising, I am depriving myself of the comfort of sleeping in or relaxing and exposing myself to real discomfort and even pain. If I am studying and learning, I am depriving myself of hanging out with friends or “vegging out.” If I am “time-blocking” and on a schedule, I am depriving myself of free time.

While this may be true in the moment, there is a greater transaction at work. When you are eating carefully selected foods and “denying” yourself the pizza and ice cream (at least for the moment), you are choosing a healthy and more abundant lifestyle. When you budget and save, you pay the “future you” so you can have more freedom in your finances, not less. When you are exercising, you add enjoyment and well-being to the other twenty-three hours of the day. By committing to learning and education, you open up far more opportunities for a fulfilling career as well as rewarding hobbies. By scheduling out your day, you free up more time in the future to do what you want and on your terms.

Discipline does not penalize; it rewards the future you.

But there is punishment that should be associated with discipline. And it is the punishment that comes from a lack of discipline. A life lived without discipline punishes and penalizes the future you. And that is the real cost of discipline: not having it.

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