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What is Discipline For?

Although I often fall short of my own standards I have led a fairly disciplined life. I've tried to keep my body in some kind of reasonable shape. I've acquired skills, studied several academic disciplines, yada yada yada. My leisure activities almost all involve some kind of self-improvement.

People who know me sometimes comment that I plan ahead. I don't think that I do much planning. I try to anticipate outcomes that I can foresee and prepare for them, but one thing I've learned over the decades is how unlikely it is that a long-term plan will unfold the way I think it will.

Rather I try to anticipate opportunities on my horizon and if I've had success at all it is a measure of my ability to see opportunities, quite often where others don't. For me that is the point of discipline; preparation, both mental and physical, to seize the opportunities that I've been blessed with. They rarely arrive with the skies parting and a dove flying down to the sound of trumpets; often there are a mix of possibilities out there that match my skills and values and through examination, reflection, and preparation it becomes clear which ones I should pursue. 

Not every opportunity works out the way I wish, but failures are opportunities in and of themselves for growth and preparation for the others that follow.



It should not go without saying that as a white male who presents as straight I've had more than my share of opportunities. It is the world that I live in and it is my responsibility to work to provide more opportunities for others who differ from me in ways that our culture cares too much about.

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