The #1 piece of advice I wish I’d received when I was a stubborn mid-school student fighting for approval is this: Forget about trying to satisfy others with good grades and decent behavior; focus on your own personal long-term objectives.
I wish someone older and wiser had told me: Throw that unattainable goal involving pleasing others right into the trash and give priority to these two:
One, think long and hard about what type of life you want for yourself.
And two, concentrate all of your efforts on making that life actually happen, careless of what everybody else thinks.
Since we are born, we are brainwashed into thinking that we should obey a set of externally imposed rules. The promise is that by following this bundle of norms, we’ll win in life – get a job, have a big house, drive a brand-new car, and (the recent addition) get an average amount of likes on your social media profile.
Problem is, being disciplined will only get you to a certain point in life. From there, you need self-discipline to go further and reach a place of inner fulfillment.
Although I sometimes use the words discipline and self-discipline interchangeably in my articles on the topic of self-control. Discipline is not the same thing as self-discipline.
In this installment, we are comparing discipline vs. self-discipline.
I’ll present to you why being only disciplined can ruin your life, while being self-disciplined can get you what you want.
Discipline vs. Self-Discipline, What’s The Difference?
The core idea of the term discipline is to create an obedient society.
From the outset, this might seem like something disturbingly wicked. But when you think about it, it’s not that bad.
After all, imagine what will happen if everyone is doing whatever he/she desires? We won’t even have the option to cross the street that leads to school, work, etc.
The world will look like a scene in an apocalyptic movie, where each person is navigating a grim reality, isolated in their own struggle for survival.
In order for society to flourish, we need some sort of rules and standards in the world.
So, to define discipline, we can say that… Discipline refers to the practice of training oneself and others to follow a set of rules, standards, and behavioral guidelines. To encourage adherence to these rules and regulations, being a disciplined person often involves some sort of rewards and punishments.
Conversely, if we look at self-discipline, we can conclude this generalization: Self-discipline stands for the individual’s ability to control his own actions voluntarily. Self-discipline involves setting personal goals and taking actions that align with one’s long-term objectives – even in the absence of external enforcement or supervision.1
To make it even simpler, we can say the following to differentiate discipline and self-discipline: Discipline is externally administered (other-imposed) while self-discipline is internally administered (self-imposed).
These two form two radically different kinds of behavior.
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- For more about the definition of self-discipline, check my post: What Is Self-Discipline? (Definition & Meaning)
- Steele, J. Living Paycheck To Paycheck Statistics, Bankrate. Available at: https://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-cards/living-paycheck-to-paycheck-statistics/
- A third of UK workers are living payday to payday. WTW. Available at: https://www.wtwco.com/en-gb/news/2022/06/a-third-of-uk-workers-are-living-payday-to-payday
- 1% rule. Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1%25_rule
- Social Network Usage & Growth Statistics: How Many People Use Social Media in 2023? Backlinko.com. Available at: https://backlinko.com/social-media-users
