Is discipline the key to persistence through suffering and hardship? From the dawn of humanity throughout its numerous growths and declines one truth about human nature has proven itself certain, that a strong and disciplined mind is the key to true endurance and happiness.
A strong mind is more powerful and useful to the human experience than a strong body as while a physically fit form can make many things easier it is the psyche which gives you the resilience to persevere through adversity. No human has ever gone through life free of adversity therefore learning discipline alleviates the human condition and invigorates survival.
No matter how strong the body is it will always be easily shattered by the universe, other people and even ourselves. The mind is a completely different creature however with a far more complicated nature, giving it the distinct ability to only be destroyed by itself – and without discipline the mind will with certainty and predictability turn on itself when faced with the obstacles in life.
Pessimistic thinking can poison not only your mental state and emotions but can drive your body into decadence and lethargy. When a mind is softened by irresolute thoughts, persistence and the ability to weather difficulty are the first casualties.
Marcus Aurelius, the second century Roman Emperor who oversaw an era of peace and stability – and was remembered as one of the Five Good Emperors – says it better than I. “Take care not to be Caesarified, or dyed in purple: it happens. So keep yourself simple, good, pure, serious, unpretentious, a friend of justice, god-fearing, kind, full of affection, strong for your proper work. Strive hard to remain the same man that philosophy wished to make you. Revere the gods, look after men. Life is short.” (Aurelius 6.30.1)
Marcus also makes a good point on how resentment and refusal of inevitability can turn a man to disobedience and make persevering through adversity nigh impossible. “The soul of a man harms itself first and foremost, when it becomes (as far as it can) a separate growth, a sort of tumor on the universe: because to resent anything that happens is to separate oneself in revolt from Nature.” (Aurelius 2.16) Griping and demanding more than one has been given degrades the human spirit and turns even the most generous man into a fickle being of ambition and greed. Accepting ones lot in life with a disciplined mind enables a person to persist through even the darkest times and emerge the same man – albeit with more experience under his belt.
The mind without a body is an ethereal thing, something which we can only dream of, a creature that to all effects would seem a true god; whereas a body without a mind is a vessel of suffering and toil lacking pride and acting solely on base instincts. Therefore it is true perseverance to accept each hurdle in life with calm and overcome them without complaint. One can only do so if they have a disciplined mind trained to accept and endure.
Works Cited:
Aurelius, Marcus. Meditations. Trans. Martin Hammond. Penguin, 2006. Print.
