Living a life of fulfilment requires a strong moral compass. Two crucial elements of that compass are honesty and discipline. They may seem simple on the surface, but sticking to them can be a daily challenge. However, the rewards of unwavering honesty and unwavering discipline are immeasurable. He who lives without discipline dies without honour. This Icelandic proverb purports beautifully the need of discipline and honour in one’s life. Honesty and discipline are two fundamental pillars of a strong character. They are not isolated virtues, but rather, work in tandem to build trust, success, and a sense of personal fulfilment.
Honesty, at its core, is about truthfulness. It’s about being genuine in your words and actions, and living with integrity. Honesty fosters trust, the bedrock of healthy relationships, both personal and professional. When we are honest, others feel secure and confident in our presence. This allows for stronger bonds, open communication, and a willingness to collaborate. Honesty is much more than just telling the truth. It’s about living with integrity, meaning your actions align with your words. Imagine a world where everyone was honest. Promises would be kept, commitments honoured, and doubt wouldn’t cloud every interaction. This is the power of honesty. It fosters trust, the foundation of all healthy relationships. When you’re honest, people feel secure around you, leading to stronger bonds, open communication, and a willingness to collaborate. It becomes easier to build genuine connections that enrich your life in countless ways.
Discipline is the act of training oneself to follow a course of action. It’s about self-control, perseverance, and the ability to commit to goals. Discipline allows us to overcome challenges; stay focused, and to achieve what we set out to do. It helps us manage time effectively, prioritize tasks, and resist distractions. Discipline is the bridge that connects your dreams to reality. It’s about having the self-control and perseverance to consistently work towards your goals. It allows you to overcome challenges, maintain focus, and resist distractions that can derail progress. Imagine wanting to learn a new skill. Discipline allows you to dedicate the time and effort required for mastery. It helps you manage your time effectively, prioritize tasks, and develop a consistent work ethic. Over time, discipline becomes a habit, empowering you to tackle any obstacle.
There are some many tangible things and ethics that add grace and beauty to our personality. In the present time, well settled life, luxurious car, grand house displaying space and magnanimity etc. make our life impactful and impressive among the echelons of the society in which we live. If we are financially sound and well-off, we may definitely make an imaginable impact in the society that respects only those who display financial grace and economic clout. But in my opinion, the respect and kudos served to us by people because of our financial superiority is but fake, transitory and have only an existence of bubble.
Barring these tangible things, there are many other aspects and ethics that may certainly earn respect and honour for us. We compete with one another in the field of finance, ostentation, affectation and all that. But there are some fields where we lag behind and do not compete with one another. Such fields where there is no competition are honesty and discipline. We compete in the financially and technologically fast changing world with each other in order to be the number one competitor. But, Alas! We do not compete where we need to. No doubt, competition in the areas of economy and finance is the need of the hour, but while competing there, we must not shun the ethics of honesty and discipline. Balance has to be maintained and lop-sided aspect of living has to be avoided. Once this is followed, it naturally gives birth to honesty and discipline. “The only way to achieve greatness in life is to have patience, consistency, and discipline”, so says, David Goggins.
If money lends financial grace and security to us, honesty and discipline certainly earn us long lasting respect. They are the two soft skills that also leave an impression on others. We must make an honest display of discipline and honesty wherever we are for it is well said by C.S Lewis that integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching. Honesty and discipline are two graceful badges that enhance our grace even if we are financially precarious. But irony of this fast changing world where there is ‘dog-eat-dog competition’ is that honesty and discipline are found now only in the residual form. Nowadays, our ethic system has collapsed. Only those people are revered and respected who have mastery over cunningness and chicanery.
It is a platitude that honesty is the best policy. But this platitude needs to be deconstructed because if it is policy then it is not honesty for the word ‘policy’ has something to do with ‘politics.’ It is germane to quote Richard Whately who says, “Honesty is the best policy; but he who is governed by it is not an honest man.” Honest is in no way a policy. It is only an ethic of a well governed and well disciplined life. We must live our life on the principles of honesty and discipline. Both these ethics are religiously and socially demanding. We must endeavor to have mastery on them for they are the two valuable badges of honour.
When one dies no one talks about his/her richness or poverty. Everyone speaks about his/ her way of life religiously and socially. So, finally, it is not our economic condition that becomes the moot point but how we have lived our life. By embracing honesty and discipline, you pave the way for a life of integrity, trust, and personal achievement. You become someone others can rely on. If we live our life on the principles and parameters of honesty and discipline, they will surely be the honorable badges of our afterlife. Thereby hangs a tale!
(Author is English Lecturer and can be mailed at: [email protected])
