Discipl[in]e & Resolve

I have come to believe that the virtue of discipline greatly exceeds the virtue of “natural” intelligence, or what most call “smartness”. I know this from personal experience and am also convinced by the discoveries and statements of certain authorities.

To begin, the great Brigham Young said, “It is evident that many who understand the truth do not govern themselves by it; consequently, no matter how true and beautiful truth is, you have to take the passions of the people and mould them to the law of God. Do you think that people will obey the truth because it is true unless they love it? No, they will not.” (JD 7, [June 27:1848].) Thus, it does not seem to matter whether a person knows truth; what really matters is whether a person can live the truth (related to this, it is interesting to consider how much truth Satan knows - considering he was one in authority before the creation).

Also, I am thoroughly convinced that academic and worldy achievement has virtually nothing to do with intelligence! I personally know many people in the top 10% of my class in law school and I also know some of them have very little “common sense” or “smartness” as compared to many of the other 200 members of the class. Moreover, I am ranked in the top of my class and know for a fact that there are many students below me in rank who are much smarter than me. So, how can it be that I and others who are comparatively less intelligent consistently out-perform the rest of the class? The answer in one word: Discipline.

A recent study has revealed that self-discipline correlates to scholastic achievement much greater than a student’s I.Q. A good summary of this study can be found here. Therefore, scientific evidence seems to confirm my experience at law school. There is a strong correlation between hours spent studying and performance: those in the top of the class study far more than those below them (of course there are exceptions on both sides, but I am convinced of this as a general rule).

So, once this truth is recognized, the issue is what are we to do about it and how does it relate to our lives? Going back to President Young, it does no good to know that discipline will enable us to be successful unless we can actually discipline ourselves to take action. This relates directly to the issue of New Year’s Resolutions. It has become the norm in society that most people at the beginning of every year resolve to do something different to better themselves (most common is to eat better and begin exercising), but these resolutions are not followed through with. We know we should change ourselves and make the conscious decision to do so, but we lack the discipline to actually do it.

Thus, it is my view that the greatness (virtue) of a person lies in his ability to discipline himself, i.e. his ability to “bridle his passions” (Alma 38:12) and change his natural or fallen inclinations into spiritual inclinations. It is interesting to note that the words discipline and disciple are derived from the same Latin root word disciplina - which means to learn from a teacher (pupil). But it is also interesting to note that most people associate the word discipline with pain and thus think of it as negative.

I would like to open up for discussion the issue of discipline and its necessity for success in both temporal and spiritual life and thus the obtaining of happiness. Why do we fail in disciplining ourselves and what can we do to change? What does discipline mean to you? What does it mean to be a disciple? Do you buy my arguments above? If so, or if not, why? Have you made new year’s resolutions? What are they? What can we do to ensure we follow through with them?