A Matter of Principle: Self-discipline — your super power

By Qarol Price

“Self-discipline starts with the mastery of your thoughts. If you don’t control what you think, you can’t control what you do.” — Napoleon Hill commitment to their cause and their relentless pursuit of excellence makes them iconic figures of self-discipline.

Like the mythic characters in narratives of old, comic book heroes help individuals build and reinforce their moral character. thought. The will is most certainly one of them. When you endeavor to “know thyself,” a large part of that is understanding what motivates you and how that in turn can inform how to harness your willpower. The power of the mind and of its imagination is not to be underestimated.

You just can’t live with a comic book nerd for 40 years and not learn a thing or two about superheroes. My husband’s study and two other rooms in the house are filled with shelves and shelves of action figures posed in various acts of valor. You might say that it is too much of a good thing, but on the other hand, I swear he draws vital energy from these guys, inspiring him to achieve ever greater scholarly heights at his antique desk while the heroic gallery cheers him on.

To say that virtue and superheroes go hand in hand is to recognize the difficulty of achieving said virtues. Superheroes are superheroes precisely because they possess hard-won noble attributes to an extreme degree. Self-discipline may get you there, but how do you become self-disciplined?

This is where exercising your imagination comes in. The better you visualize the results you want, the clearer the way to your goal will appear. The better you visualize your wish, your dream, your goal, the more you will feel the passion for what you want. The more that passion is felt by the heart and realized in the mind, the stronger the will becomes to make it happen.

Imagine the thrill of having complete mastery over the constant temptations to consume fatal snacks, sleep instead of exercise, bingewatch vacuous TV shows, doom-scroll social media and act impulsively through unchecked emotions.

Some things can only be strengthened by focus of thought. The will is most certainly one of them. When you endeavor to “know thyself,” a large part of that is understanding what motivates you and how that in turn can inform how to harness your willpower. The power of the mind and of its imagination is not to be underestimated.

The DC Comics superhero, Green Lantern, wears a ring which is powered by strength of will, limited only by the wearer's imagination. Green Lantern's power and the concept of willpower emphasize the importance of inner strength, determination and the ability to overcome fear and adversity to achieve greatness.

Regardless of the dusting nightmare posed by the scores of figures occupying our shelves, I am happy to have my husband’s household heroes assembled like a plastic Justice League combining their powers to inspire and energize him! Maybe their influence can even rub off on me.

Qarol Price is a writer and educator. She has taught philosophy to children in Johnston County Public Schools and in Harlem. She is a resident of Selma.