Discipline, the instant and willing obedience to orders, respect for authority, self reliance and teamwork. At least, that is the definition provided by the United States Military. A lot of that can be translated into a martial arts school environment as well, but we want to talk about what it has to do with Perseverance. It is said that all one needs is motivation to do anything. That’s not entirely true.
Motivation is what gets you started. Discipline keeps you going. How do we develop discipline? Habit. We are what we continuously do. Humans are creatures of habit. Discipline is sticking to that habit that you show created for yourself, whether it is brushing your teeth every morning or practicing your forms every day for an hour.
To take advantage of our habitual nature, we have to out whatever is we want to accomplish into our schedule. Add it to an already existing habit. If you go to the gym daily, for instance, you have already disciplined yourself into doing so. Now add 10 minutes of form work and boom, it becomes part of your workout.
Disciplining yourself into doing something is simply a matter of changing or creating a new habit. Once it becomes habit, it turns into behavior and that defines who we are. Again, you are what you do.
Train hard,
Head Instructor Shawn Morris