What does it mean to be Disciplined?

Discipline means to teach.

training to act in accordance with rules; drill: military discipline.

The difference between someone who is disciplined and someone who isn’t is whether or not they are taught the correct behaviors. Trained how they are supposed to act and be as a person

Discipline means a bunch of things, first and foremost to me, self-control, the ability to maintain focus and clarity sufficient to finish the task at hand or maintain a state of thought. A visual of discipline might be an army marching in step or watching an orchestra move from practice and tuning into the piece. Is it worth it, I suppose with that definition, it is if you find yourself distracted to the point where you can’t complete your goals to your satisfaction.

It can also mean a field of study, punishment, and governance of conduct… so take your pick :)

Being disciplined simply means doing the right thing because it is right. Another reason is doing what you are supposed to do regardless of how hard it is.

It involves black leather and nipple clamps. Oh, whoops. It’s control, self governing.

Most simply I think it means being in control. Tact would come secondary.

Soldiers. A marching band. Dancers/performers. Pretty much any professional that must control themselves, keep their composure and live up to their responsibilities is a good display of discipline.

As opposed to being undisciplined and out of control, yes, I think it’s worth it. It builds character.

In this situation I would suggest looking in the dictionary…

It simply means the ability to control ones behavior and ones emotions in order to accomplish a goal or goals. People can be self-disciplined to one degree or another, but the dimensions of being disciplined never change.

Sometimes I get disciplined if I’m a bad girl. ;-)

A few have offered the word “control” now. @CaptainHarley‘s use of the word, i think, was most poignant: Ability to control.

Tough question time:

In the case of someone who would enjoy both of either Saving Money and having Fast Food, where he could only choose to do one, how is ability to control to be understood and measured?

Couldn’t it be said that with such a nobel and virtuous act such as the act of ‘Saving Money’ available to the individual, that the decision to spend that money instead on a burger displays a great amount of self-discipline?

Dan Gilbert apparently said (a friend just told me this over the phone):

People who are disciplined are people who are more concerned about their future selves than they are about their present selves.

I like this a lot.

@ninjacolin

That’s almost a classic definition of maturity: the ability to delay near-term gratification in favor of long-term goals.

As to your example of fast food as opposed to saving, I have to ask… saving toward what goal? I’ve never been a fan of just saving money simply to be saving money as a goal in and of itself. If you’re saving to go to college, or to buy a new home, or to provide for your retirement, or to provide for unforseen contingencies, that’s all well and good. But saving just to be saving leads to elevating the aquisition of money as an end in itself, and that leads to elevating money to the level of a god.

I thought this was going to be a BDSM question…

Discipline and to be disciplined is how you act when nobody is watching.

to beat the crap out of someone.

@syz – what is a BDSM question? Sorry if it is really obvious, sometimes the obvious escapes me, lol.

Hugh Stevenson Tigner once observed, “Enthusiasm always exaggerates the importance of things and over-looks their deficiencies.” Self-Discipline is the principle that channels your Enthusiasm in the right direction. Without it, Napoleon Hill said, Enthusiasm resembles the unharnessed lightning of an electrical storm; it may strike anywhere and it can be destructive. – Napoleon Hill Foundation

not exactly sure who these guys all are, but these words make sense to me

For some narrow minded people. It means to spank. Because this is how they were raised….and they know it and it’s comfortable to them. Because it takes less effort, and less patience on the part of the parent as well.

To me discipline means to teach someone some values, so that they may learn how to survive, without raising their hands, for any other reason than to defend their life. In other words when someone tries to harm them. And this is where people who spank their kids, Fail….

They will get defensive I know. After all, being defensive is part of human nature….Especially if deep down you know what you do is wrong, and you don’t even want to admit that to your best friend, YOU.. Otherwise you would not feel the need to defend yourself.