Discipline

I think it’s worthwhile clarifying something about discipline as it is a word that, in my experience, is so often associated with punishment.

To discipline someone actually means to train them.  I suppose the confusion about punishment might come from childhood days of chastisement, when a parent’s efforts at positive forms of reinforcing good behaviour, on their own, didn’t quite produce timely results.

Discipline is also an overture to self-control.  If to discipline is to train, then self-discipline is to train ourselves.  Remember, take the punishment aspect out.

It seems good to me that I can train myself, as well as receive training from others (including correction), and not feel like I am being punished.