“SA IKAUUNLAD ng bayad, disiplina ang kailangan” (President Ferdinand Marcos).
Even Filipinos who still hate President Marcos must admit that what he stated above is true and still very relevant today. Webster defined discipline as “training that develops self-control, character or efficiency.”
Psychotherapists define it as a system of techniques of dealing constructively with the pain of a problem – solving, instead of avoiding, that pain – in such a way that all of life’s problems can be solved.”
The journey to discipline is long and difficult. Dr. M. Scott Peck, in his best selling book “”The Road Less Travelled” devoted a Section on Discipline which covered the following topics:
1 Problems and Pain
2 Delaying Gratification
3 The Sins of the Father
4 Problem – Solving and Time
5 Responsibility
6 Neuroses and Character Disorders
7 Escape from Freedom
8 Dedication to Reality
9 Transference: The Outdated Map
10 Openness to Challenge
11 Withholding Truth
12 Balancing
13 The Healthiness of Depression
14 Renunciation and Rebirth
Parents, teachers, clergies, pastors, human resource officials correctional institutions people, military personnel, doctors, government official, business people, etc. must seriously study the above topics on discipline to people under their care.
For the benefit of our readers, below are some short explanations for each topic mentioned earlier.
1. Life is a series of problems, pain and joy which we want our people to understand, solve life’s problems, and confront pain.
2. Delaying gratification is a process of scheduling the pain and pleasure of life to enhance the pleasure by meeting and experiencing the pain first and getting it over with.
3. At times, children are punished frequently and severely throughout their childhood such as slapping and kicking by their parents.
4. We must be willing to take the time to solve problem.
5. We must accept responsibility for a problem before we can solve it.
6. Neurotic people assure too much responsibility while people with character disorders assume less responsibility.
7. Accept that an adult life is a series of personal choices and decisions and must act responsively to free ourselves from things that oppressed us.
8. Be reminded that truth is reality and falsehood is unreal.
9. The process of actively clinging to an outmoded view of reality is the basis for much mental illness.
10. The life of wisdom must be a life of contemplation combined with action.
11. At times it is necessary to temporarily withhold the truth for common good.
12. Discipline itself must be disciplined. It must be properly regulated by right judgment and moderated by emotion.
13. Courage to seek help if needed. For some people, to call themselves patients must go to the process of psychotherapy.
14. Understanding that it is in giving up of self that human beings can find the most ecstatic and lasting, solid, durable joy of life.
The 14 topics no doubt are interrelated. To be a disciplined person means evolving into a higher level of spirituality. The exercise of feedback, medication in discipline.
“Cleanliness is next to Godliness”, a saying goes. Cleanliness is the beginning of discipline, we say. Dirtiness is the beginning of sinfulness. With a dirty environment. Filipinos are still wanting discipline. In this COVID 19 pandemic season, the discipline of our people is, no doubt, imperative to effectively address this crisis.
