Self-discipline and Persistence in Tough Times

Freedom is the ability to make a choice. Thus, a person will always have freedom. However even though everyone can make a choice, if the choice they make is something difficult, or something that they don’t want to do out of laziness, then it requires discipline and persistence to continue following their choice. If the path that a person wants to walk becomes difficult to travel upon, discipline is essential, If discipline hasn’t been developed, people will be more likely to walk off their path because it is too difficult to continue, or the obstacles that arise are far more likely to push people off their current path, and possibly onto a path that leads to a place that they won’t want to be.

As Carl Prickhardt, PhiD, writes on Psychology Today, in his article “Self-discipline and adolescence,” “Self-discipline is the will power to make yourself do what you may not feel like doing, or to keep yourself from giving in to what you will later regret.

In both cases self» discipline advances or protects what you believe is in your best interests” Prickhardt later provides examples to illustrate the benefits of self-discipline, particularly with regards to an adolescent navigating the passage to adulthood, “it takes self-discipline, for example, at a party with friends, to keep on drink from leading to another and then drunkenness, even though excessive drinking has been a problem in the past and a focus of personal concern”, Being at a party with friends, a person might feel pressured to drink alcohol.

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The person has chosen not to drink too much and become drunk, because they recognize it as a serious hazard to their health, but the obstacle of peer pressure might overwhelm them, in order to keep themselves from drinking despite the peer pressure, they need self-discipline Self-discipline, along with a strong conviction, helps to foster resilience in a person.

The persistence they develop helps them to succeed and stay on their path Without persistence, it becomes too easy to give up Arthur Costa and Bena Kallick, in “Describing 16 habits of mind” describe the difference between individuals who have habits of persistence and discipline versus people without, The people who are persistent stick with their choice, and don‘t give it up without a tight. Instead of thinking about how they are unable to do it, efficacious people find ways to continue progressing, even if the answer seems vague or it if finding the answer takes time. On the other hand, people without discipline and persistence are prone to giving up because they can’t immediately come up with an answer, When they don’t want to do something, they will give up, saying things like “This is too hard,” and “I can’t do this“ (Costa & Kallick, 1)

Discipline and persistence force people to give something, whether it’s effort or something material, but it isn‘t leeching off of you. As long as you keep investing, you will reap certain benefits from your discipline and persistence Discipline and persistence help an individual improve themselves, and making it possible to accomplish more worthwhile endeavors of increasing valuei Discipline and persistence both help an individual to build the self-esteem and willpower necessary to generate success. Prickhardt explains in his article how an individual, and more specifically, an adolescent, builds self-esteem and willpower through discipline and persistence. “At a time when many of one’s peers are out having a good time, self-discipline is not much fun.

There are, however, rewards for self-discipline, You set yourself a task or resolution; you mobilize determination; you assert self- control; you successfully meet the challenge; and you build self-esteem for having accomplished what felt very hard to do. And in the process, through practice, you have further strengthened the will power on which self<discipline depends” (Prickhardt 8). Over time, through repeated practice, a person‘s willpower grows, and as a result, they can take on harder tasks and still succeed, Self-discipline and persistence also helps a person to accomplish more things that are worthwhile, Kuhel elaborates on this in her article, when she explains her belief that “As a society, we benefit from recognizing that some things are worth waiting for: They require our patience, persistence and hard work to fully actualize. Great relationships, complex business ideas and change are typically not accomplished overnight. In fact, the waiting can have a positive effect on a person by increasing one’s humility that we can’t control everything. It also feels good to know that one’s hard work paid off.

Toiling in the right areas creates grit and gritty people often enjoy the satisfaction that they’ve earned the rewards from sweating over a project” In the next paragraph, she tells the readers that a person benefits when they adopt the philosophy that the only thing humans can certainly control is their effort. It’s because of this that delayed success brings greater satisfaction to a person than immediate gratification. They put in time, and effort and succeed. Even, when success wasn’t guaranteed, they persevere (Kuhel 8-9). An example of this is the “marshmallow test,” first done by Walter Mischel, PhD. The marshmallow test was an experiment where kids were given one or two marshmallows, depending on how i They were told if that if they could wait a few minutes before eating the marshmallow, they could have two marshmallows.

However, if they couldn’t wait, they could ring a bell, and have the marshmallow immediately, but they would be given only a single marshmallow. Self—control helps people to receive better rewards later on rather than getting a lesser reward immediately. Without it, people are impulsive, and impulsive people tend not to care for the long—term implications of an acLion. Impulses don‘t take into account anything but here and now, and because of this, impulses typically reap lesser rewards than those who can control themselves, In conclusion, self—discipline and persistence are needed to keep moving forward in the face of difficulty. Without them, people are often pushed off the path they wanted to walk. Self- discipline and persistence help people to accomplish things and develop their character