Life puts challenges and problems on our paths to success and achievement. However, in order to conquer them, we have to act with perseverance and persistence, which of course, requires self-discipline.
"WHAT IS SELF-DISCIPLINE?"
Self-discipline is an important life skill that entails the ability to control yourself, work hard or behave in a particular way without needing anyone else to tell you what to do.
It involves pushing yourself forward, staying motivated, and taking action to pursue something better for yourself, in spite of hindering factors such as distractions, temptations, or unfavorable odds.
I doubt there's anyone who hasn't been in situations where he/she needed to exert self-discipline. Matter of fact, I live by self-discipline everyday and I must say, I've become quite a pro at it. Many people think it's a gift but it's only a skill I've come to master over time.
I remember the one time I had to rigorously exercise self-discipline, that was during my NECO exams back in highschool. “NECO” (National Examination Council) is a school leaving certificate exam that is usually written in my country Nigeria after the WAEC (West African Examination Council) exams during the final year of high school. It's actually optional but I was compelled to take the exam because my parents had already unwittingly paid for it and I didn't want their hard-earned money to go to waste.
But the thing is, most of my friends weren't taking the exams that year and couple with the fact that I was so certain I had already passed my Waec exams (the results weren't out yet), I lost all enthusiasm to take the exams. At that period, the Waec exams had already drained all the energy left in me and all I wanted was to graduate from highschool immediately. No one told me to study, my parents have never really needed to tell me to study hard (probably because they trust me well enough to always bring back home good results), I always studied on my own will.
However, the case was different… Neco exams were fast approaching, yet I never once cared to open my books to study. I was too relaxed, watching movies, playing games, surfing social media. Then, I couldn't imagine having to take a maths exam again. I barely survived it in Waec and now I was going to repeat the process again?! (P.s. I hated Maths). The motivation to read just wasn't there.
Until a day to my Neco exams, I sat down in my bed, completely lost in deep thoughts. “What if I actually fail my Waec?“… “What if one of my subjects become withheld?“…“What if this Neco is my golden opportunity?“… Failure definitely wasn't what I signed up for and so, without anyone telling me, I sprung up with energy and motivation, turned off my phone, I disciplined myself to quit movies, social media, and every other form of distractions.
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I wrote down my goals and started studying really hard like there was nothing in my head anymore or like my life depended on it. And thankfully, I was able to finish the exam successfully.
Honestly, It was tough for me and I'd say it cost me my short time pleasures, rest, sleep and peace of mind. But, the end results brought everlasting joy and till this day, I'm glad I persisted to study hard for that Neco exams.
Hold on, the story isn't finished just yet…
Consequently, when my Waec results eventually came out, I was stupefied because I failed in a subject I wasn't expecting to fail at all and that was “Literature in English”. I don't know what went wrong but I was really downcast. Fortunately, my Neco results offered me reprieve when it was finally released and it turned out to be a very good and useful result for my college admission seeking.
Now, imagine if I hadn't exercised self-discipline in writing my Neco exams back then? It would have been tragic and I would have had to come back the following year to repeat my exams.
What did I learn from my experience?
Well, I definitely learned the importance of self-discipline in goal achievement and success, I discovered the joy that came with being in control of myself, I learned to overcome procrastination, I learned to always motivate myself, I learned to always take advantage of every opportunity and never take it for granted.
So folks, since then I've been exercising self-discipline in every other area of my life and it has helped shape my personality to who I am today. Exercising self-discipline gives me a higher sense of joy, satisfaction as well as accomplishments.
Conclusively, I must admit it's not easy to maintain self-discipline, there'll always be temptations, laziness and procrastination. That is why, I have to link grace with discipline. Not every one knows how to quit some bad habits easily. It actually takes time, practice, willpower and the grace of God.
P.S.This post in in response to the 
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