A person’s level of freedom and success is intricately tied to their level of self-discipline. By fostering self-discipline, you can explore opportunities and help shape your destiny.
Let’s take a look at a couple of inspiring stories of people who have been able to do just that.
High achievers are tenacious
It is said that Steve Jobs woke up at 4 o’clock every day when he was young and finished his work before 9. Jobs said: “Freedom came from self-confidence, and self-confidence came from self-discipline.”
Self-discipline is the control of the self and self-confidence results from the power of the self. It is only when you learn to restrain yourself and control your life with a strict schedule that you will be able to hone your self-confidence. We are all adults, but how can you build self-confidence if you cannot achieve even the most basic behavioral control? How can you talk about freedom?
Li Ka-shing, the former wealthiest person in Hong Kong, is known for his diligence and self-discipline. He is famous for his work schedule: No matter when he goes to bed, he wakes up at 5:59 a.m. when the alarm goes off. He starts his day by reading the news, then playing golf for an hour and a half before going to the office to begin working. He has maintained this same schedule for decades.
Like professional athletes, many business people manage their work, rest, diet, habits, hobbies, physical exercise, desires, etc. If you can manage to do this, you are close to the door of the “high-achievers.” A person disciplined enough to control his mouth, lift his legs, and insist on running every night will also succeed at work.
After I started working, I gradually realized that self-discipline is the cornerstone of life: if you do what you are told, it is easy for you to get on the right track, to find and fix mistakes, to perform increasingly better, to live a bright life, and to be full of energy.
Self-discipline determines how you operate as a human being, how you execute your decisions, and whether or not you can become a better you.
Self-discipline makes ordinary people a success
Steve Nash, many people’s favorite professional basketball player, is a white Canadian with a thin body who has suffered severe injuries to a nerve in his back. Though he is the man who’s won back-to-back most valuable player (MVP) titles, oddly enough, he’s considered the “least-talented” of the basketball superstars.
Only 10 players in NBA history have achieved the status of MVP in two consecutive seasons in a row, with the other nine being greats like Jordan and Chamberlain.
Steve Nash is notoriously disciplined. For example, he doesn’t eat sugar, fried, or processed foods. On training days, he eats six meals a day: porridge with cereal (gluten-free), sliced almonds, raw nuts, fruit, vegetables, brown rice, carrots, and raw celery.
He and teammate Grant Hill encouraged each other not to eat chocolate or high-calorie foods. Hill has been caught breaking the rules occasionally, but Nash has never been seen breaking them. Nash believes in his routine so much that he recommends his recipes to his teammates.
As a result, the Suns’ youngsters became Nash’s followers, and their performances were transformed. The whole team followed Nash’s lead with his habits for eating, drinking, working out, training, and maintaining a healthy atmosphere.
Nash’s success has given ordinary people something to think about: If you don’t have a natural talent, you’ll never be a high-profile basketball player such as Kobe or Maddie; but if you’re diligent and disciplined enough, you can be Nash.
The so-called workaholic may just not be disciplined enough
When not working with a sense of rhythm, a workaholic’s time is filled with work. After studying time management, you realize there is much room for improvement in your work life.
It’s good to try to plan, keep a diary, prioritize what’s most important, finish today’s work today, build a time management system, and balance work and family. Self-discipline helps ensure that you prioritize what’s most pressing and not be distracted by things that can wait or that may vie for attention. On the surface, self-discipline may seem to limit you, but in reality, it’s the very thing that frees you.
And at the end of the day, the truth is that you are as free as you are self-disciplined.
