Volume 2 · The Discipline of Hours · Essay 113

Formal Discipline Theory

The Formal Discipline theory will not change your day, but it may change what your day means. That is not nothing.

Like all theories, it explains most cases and none perfectly. Use it as a lantern, not as a cage. A lantern shows the path; a cage only shows itself.

It is worth keeping in your pocket not because it is always right, but because it is always available. A tool you carry beats a perfect tool you left at home.

The kirana shop opens at eight sharp, festival or fever. Ask the owner his secret and he will point at the shutter, not at his willpower. Systems outlast moods.

Time is the one currency the Reserve Bank does not print more of. Tomorrow will provide the test. It always does.