“Discipline is the link between your goals and their achievement. All of us, to some extent, must involuntarily suffer from one of two “pains”: either the pain generated by discipline, or the pain of subsequent regrets and repentance. The only difference is that the pain of discipline weighs grams, while the pain of regret weighs tons” (Jim Rohn, famous American business philosopher). It's probably true. But I think this is not the whole truth. I think the pain of discipline (or, more precisely, self-discipline) does not always weigh in grams. I know at least two simple ways to make this pain truly unbearable. The first way is to choose the wrong target. Or get carried away by someone else’s opinion (for example, “my mother always dreamed of being a doctor, she persuaded me to go to medical school”). Or confuse goals and means, for example, “to get my wife back, I will earn three times more!” It is clear that if the wife left because she did not have enough money, this plan may work. If she left for some other reason, this is not a plan, but some kind of nonsense... The pain of discipline, which does not lead to a truly important goal, “weighs” not in grams. It is noticeably aggravated by a poorly understood dissatisfaction with the fact that we are doing nonsense - instead of achieving truly worthwhile things. And the farther, the deeper. It seems to us that we have become lazy and tired, “completely let down”, and maybe even gotten sick. Or maybe we're just going to the wrong place? Discipline, like a confidently drawn route, in itself prevents you from doubting your goal. Obviously, remorse and regret in this case are practically unavoidable. One day we will understand that everything we did was in vain. A job that was not chosen by me, day after day, looks more and more like meaningless hard labor (and even the money from it somehow makes me less happy). But the wife left (for example) because she loves someone else, and even a tenfold increase in salary will not change this. A piece of life spent on achieving unnecessary goals has already been lived... The second method (to make the pain from discipline almost unbearable) is to ignore your other needs. This is a common phenomenon now: people who overwork themselves with work, wear themselves out to the point of all sorts of (sometimes deadly) illnesses, lose expensive relationships because of their busyness, and simply the opportunity to enjoy life. Discipline, like a clearly defined plan, focuses our attention on itself, limiting our ability to think about something else. I am sure that each of us is noticeably disciplined in some ways, and quite relaxed in others. Any person needs both order and freedom from it. And, of course, discipline is important, including indeed as a link between the goals set and their achievement. However, I think, like many things, in excessively large doses, even the best self-discipline can be quite destructive.