Having self-discipline is a lifelong task that many of us find difficult to maintain with all the temptations and pressures we face. As parents and carers we must be focused on being self- disciplined for our own well-being and also the well-being of our children. As difficult as it may be, it is important that our kids start to learn how to become self-disciplined so that when they’re ready to fend for themselves they can easily leave the comfort of home and begin their long journey as strong individuals.
With the college embarking on creating a strong college culture where we are all sharing goals and attitudes, we will be looking into developing some personal character strengths that could lead to improving self-discipline.
Dan and I worked through some ideas with our U13s group where they could get a start on what might help them develop their self-discipline:
Remove temptation – self-control is often easiest when abiding by the old saying, “out of sight, out of mind”. Removing distractions from your environment is a crucial first step when working to improve your self-discipline.
Eat regularly and healthily – when you are hungry your ability to concentrate suffers as your brain is not functioning to its highest potential. Make sure you are well fuelled throughout the day with healthy snacks and meals every few hours.
Don’t wait for it to “feel right” – improving your self-discipline means changing your normal routine which can be uncomfortable and awkward. When a behaviour becomes a habit, we stop using our decision-making skills and instead function on auto-pilot.
Schedule breaks, treats and rewards for yourself – self-discipline does not mean your new regimen needs to be embarked upon entirely cold turkey, hard core or drill sergeant-like in execution. Giving yourself zero wiggle room often results in failures, disappointments, and giving in to your old ways.
Forgive yourself and move forward – applying a new way of thinking won’t always go according to plan. You will have ups and downs, fabulous successes and flat-out failures. When you have a setback, acknowledge what caused it and move on. It is easy to get wrapped up in guilt, anger or frustration, but these emotions will not help build self-discipline.
The feedback and discussions raised about the ideas we gave was excellent. In small groups the kids were able to read through and discuss amongst themselves what they thought. The groups were buzzing with interesting comments and of course questions were raised as to how these points could be implemented.
Over the course of this term we will be reviewing these points and reminding ourselves of how our self-discipline can improve further. Leveraging off the emphasis on college culture will help our cause in developing our kids as well-rounded individuals who we will all be proud of.
Well Done Guys and so important.
I look forward to discussing this with Jac as he has shared with me some things that I know these teachings if persued would help ALL the children and teachers from what i hear and obviously parents of which i am and also constantly trying to remind myself of self discipline.