A Singaporean In Australia

I found out too late. Self discipline is something we will never get away with having none. We can try hard to cheat it but it will always come back and bitch slap us twice as hard. Self discipline is a subset of a series of desirable attributes. Without self discipline, one will unlikely be someone who is responsible, considerate, reliable, selfless or independent. 

Our level of self discipline determines our every day actions. If we are not discipline enough to go to bed on time, we will wake up weary the next day. Then we decide if we want to turn up for work giving our 70% or take a day's sick leave when we are actually just tired. Self discipline is the key whether we are punctual or how well we keep promises. In short, it determines who we are.

Self discipline is critical to our success when it comes to migrating to a new country. When we get used to the everyday routines in Singapore, we run our lives on autopilot so our awareness on self discipline tends to take a backseat. However, on the day you step on new soil, life will be a blank canvass. Nobody will tell us where to go and what to do. We are on our own. If we do not maintain a tight grip on self discipline, it is easy to float in limbo for a long time.

We found ourselves making checklists of tasks that we wanted to accomplish every day when we first arrived. Perhaps I should reproduce a checklist of what new migrants should do in their first week and upload it here on another day. Having said that, this does not mean we have to be constantly hard on ourselves. On certain days where we had nothing much on the list, we would use the time for leisure or simply rest and have a quiet afternoon sipping tea at home. As new migrants, one of the first key tasks that requires a high level of self discipline is to look for jobs. It is too easy to give up sending tons of job applications after a few days of non response. This is where self discipline makes the difference, since it expresses itself in various way such as perseverance, self control, a never-give-up attitude, the ability to resist distractions, temptations or procrastination.

This attribute will help us overcome problems and setbacks and take care of ourselves by making sure we eat right and sleep on time. I found out the importance of self discipline only after I became a parent. Most people will acknowledge the value of self discipline but few will take real effort to develop and strengthen it. This is the most crucial attribute we must have for not just a successful migration journey but the success of every aspect of our lives in future.