To honour and mark the importance of India's 11th President APJ Abdul Kalam, in 2010 the United Nations declared his birthday on 15 October to be celebrated as World Students Day. In the President's Address at the presentation of National Award to Teachers in 2006, Kalam had said, "Teachers have to realize that they are the builders of the society. Society can be built only when the students are made proficient in their subjects. In addition, they have to provide a vision for life to the students and also inculcate the fundamentals of values which he should practice in the years to come."
Being a student of life and committing to continuous learning and growth is the best decision a human being can take to live a truly fulfilling and successful life. A student is someone who is always curious to learn and inspired to do things without external motivation. Discipline comes easily to those who adopt student attitude and are open about wonders & uncertainties of life. The word discipline originates from Latin word disciplinare which means to learn or educate oneself. Hence, discipline plays a very vital role in everyone’s life and is vital for having a fresh mind with an open & curious perspective.
To be disciplined, it does not mean that one has to do something extraordinary. Small acts like waking up early, wearing clean clothes, combing hairs properly, listening to others, be on time, respect others, follow guidelines, and various others are all part of our journey of learning and displaying discipline.
The forceful imposition of external discipline can neither bring out the desired result nor fulfilment, but only wilful acceptance and understanding. Once we realise the fact that we had to learn everything in life from properly tying our shoelace to eating the right food, how to work or communicate in relations, adopting student attitude is not difficult. The problem comes only when we are not humble enough and live with an attitude of I know it all and do not challenge and change our beliefs. That’s where role model like APJ Abdul Kalam can inspire us with their personal life to keep learning and remain motivated with childlike enthusiasm and creativity.
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