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(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVBC C7QtGEo ) As early as the age of twelve, I was fortunate to attend a private middle school and I continued to follow that pattern through high school. With the change from a public to a private institution, there was a big change in the different curriculums, rules, and disciplinary actions. The administration preached about how the kids at the school would have to uphold a certain level of respect and academic excellence. After attending Mother Seton Academy for a year, I realized that they were teaching us how to have a certain level of discipline, not only in school but also in life. Around the same time, I began to have more responsibilities, and at first, I struggled a lot. It was hard for a thirteen- year-old kid to do things such as consistently being a role model for his younger sibling while keeping up his hygiene, cleaning, and practicing the piano and drums enough to improve. It has taken many years for me to get the hang of being mentally disciplined. Even now I still struggle with it, but I have made a great amount of progress. I don't believe that discipline can be something that is perfected, but instead something that can be constantly learned and worked on. It is also helpful to have a good understanding of the pros and cons of mental discipline. Starting with the cons, there are the difficulties of staying on a task or being easily distracted by other things, even small annoyances. Another issue is procrastination. Without the motivation to push forward, some people decide to put off a certain task over and over again. This becomes procrastination. One more big issue with being disciplined is pushing yourself to do something from which you receive no current pleasure.

If people could push themselves through all of these struggles, then they would understand the importance of living a disciplined life and would see how the pros outweigh the cons. Once you become disciplined, you have more self-awareness and a better understanding of your purpose in life. You will also feel like you have more control over your actions and thought processes. Altogether, having a more disciplined mindset will help you succeed in life where others can't because they lack the discipline needed to be successful. It is true that some people can become successful from natural talent, but without any discipline, these natural gifts that lead to success can be taken away. For example, basketball player Delonte West, a famous NBA star, became a homeless man. He went from making 16 million dollars and shooting game-winning points next to LeBron James to living on the streets. Delonte West struggled with mental health issues and then drugs, which threw his life completely off track. He has been removed from the NBA because of it. He was not disciplined mentally and because of that, he did not take a real advantage of the gift that he was given to be in the NBA. Instead, his life began to fall apart. After reading this article I hope someone has gained a new understanding of what it means to be mentally disciplined and how important it is to have a form of discipline in their life. I understand at my young age that mental discipline is definitely something that I am still learning, but I am willing to put myself through that process. This is what helps people to live a more successful and happy life. The lack of it can lead to a very stressful life. In conclusion, I encourage the reader to begin the practice of becoming mentally disciplined.

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