All opinions are always 100% honest and my own. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I also participate in: CJ Affiliate; eBay Partner Network; Rakuten Affiliate Network; ShareASale; Walmart Affiliate Program; independent affiliate networks.
I've heard parents, in a kind of pot-induced haze, exclaim the superiority of letting your children choose what they believe. “Don't indoctrinate your children!” they shout. As if this ultimate freedom is somehow enlightened and open-minded.
What they fail to recognize, however, is that indoctrination is coming at them from every corner. School indoctrinates them, peers indoctrinate them, the media indoctrinates them, and culture indoctrinates then. If you choose to abdicate your parental duty to “indoctrinate” them, you'll be the only one holding back.
Discipline is very much the same. You can choose not to discipline your children. But life will still give them a thorough spanking. And the same thing happens to adults.
If you do not learn to discipline yourselves, you are sure to be disciplined by others.
It's better to teach a child to be responsible with a small allowance or bit of earning—by allowing them to miss a movie night with friends they can't afford—than to let them learn that lesson when they get kicked out of college because they can't pay tuition or have a car repossessed because they didn't make the payment. Many lessons can be learned the easy way—with minor consequences—or the hard way—with life-altering consequences.
In goal-setting you are in a similar position. You don't have to discipline yourself to write the book you've always dreamed of. But life will kick you upside the head when the kid you went to high school with does have the discipline…and becomes a best selling author. If you choose not to follow your boss's directions precisely, he just might discipline you with the opportunity to look for a new job. No one will force you to lose the spare tire on your gut, but ending up in the ER with an IV in your arm and a tube down your nose might feel a bit like a whooping.
The choice is yours. Discipline yourself or let life consequences teach you a lesson. The former tends to be the easy way to get where you want.
Join me in the 100 Day Challenge!
Alison Moore Smith is a 61-year-old entrepreneur who graduated from BYU in 1987. She has been (very happily) married to Samuel M. Smith for 40 years. They are parents of six incredible children and grandparents to two astounding grandsons. She is the author of The 7 Success Habits of Homeschoolers.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks