The Nine Noble Virtues: a Modern Take - Discipline

The Nine Noble Virtues are a modern invention, so it seems my title is redundant. However, little seems to have been done to bring the concepts themselves from the past into the present.

I do not consider the NNV to be a historical reference. I do consider them to be a modern way of understanding cultural and even subconscious values that were stressed, if not perfectly, by those peoples lumped together as Norsemen.

This series will explore my thoughts on these values and, hopefully, start conversations about them in a modern context.

Oh, great irony, that I am talking about discipline now. I've put off working on this post for a week now, and I'm working on it now to avoid my editing work. But now that I've acknowledged my own procrastination, it's only fair to point out that procrastination is a self-esteem issue, not a discipline issue.

But what is discipline in this modern world? Is it something of a military structuring of one's life? Is it punishing children until they behave? Is it that ethereal concept of Will? I don't believe it is any of those. Or maybe it is connected to all of them, or they are connected to it.

Discipline in the world of the ancient Norse lands would not be any of those rather solid concepts. I think the best way of translating the idea into modern lingo would be the word "adulting."

I know, I know, but bear with me. In the past, being disciplined would have consisted of self-starting, often at or before the crack of dawn, to take care of a variety of animals and domesticated plant-life. It would have meant that you had to be aware of your environment to avoid dangers and to actually see what needs to be done - no drifting through life half-aware. It would have meant troubleshooting issues as they came up, using practical solutions rather than the disposable, throw-money-at-it methods we often use today.

It would have meant crawling up on the roof to replace thatching, even if you just didn't feel like it that day. And you had to pre-plan for that to have the thatching ready to put in place. It would have meant that even when you thought you had done enough work, you still had more to do.

Got kids? You still need to clean house and cook food. Got a sore foot? Too bad the fields won't plow themselves. Toothache? Doesn't change the fact that goats gotta eat, too. Tired? Well, a nap here and there isn't too bad, but best not get a reputation for sleeping half the day away.

To put it into a modern perspective, we are a bit spoiled, though I argue that we do deserve the benefits we have. We go to a job that is often laid out for us. We are told what to do and how to do it, and we get compensated for that. Then we go home, and therein lies the problem.

See the 8-hour workday, 7-day workweek was NEVER intended to be lay-about time for us. It was specifically so we would have time to do the work of family instead of putting in 18 hours for a boss. But now, we forget to do the work of family. We need to be disciplined.

That discipline can mean so many things. Perhaps it is taking the time to save and invest money wisely to allow for the future prosperity of your family. Perhaps it is doing repair work around the house, or paying someone else to do that (both are equally valid as money represents time and effort that you've already put in, plus you economically lift another in their job as a plumber, etc.).

Perhaps it means going to a food bank or filling out forms for benefits that your family is eligible for but you don't desperately need. We tend to wait until we desperately need "charity" before we use it, but that increases the chances you will need it longer because you fell farther into need before making changes. If we looked at these things more as a parachute and less as the ambulance waiting for us to hit the ground, we could recover from life's little hiccoughs faster. (Check out my post on Hospitality for more on this!)

Discipline means that your wants and wannas, your feelings and hurts, all take a backseat to the reality of what needs to be done for the betterment of the family. Discipline is doing things in spite of your immediate desires in order to meet long-term goals.

Downgrading from a smartphone to a flip-phone for two years to save money is discipline. Making a budget is discipline. Learning to cook so you can cut food costs is discipline. Even consciously making a choice that has an immediate negative effect on your family's finances so that someone can get a degree or certification that will have a long-term positive effect on those finances is discipline.

And, today, discipline is getting back to my editing.

What do you think of my assessment of this virtue?