One of the biggest reasons many people in Turkey fail to develop discipline is that we were raised to believe discipline should be confined to specific periods of life, not integrated into life itself. As children, we were told at the onset of adolescence: “You’re in the LGS year—this year, there’s no gaming, no socializing, no friends, no sports, no hobbies. Be disciplined this year, and afterward, you can do all those things.” At the start of youth, we were told: “You’re entering the YKS year—you must be disciplined for two years. This year, no games, no social life, no hobbies, no sports, no friends, no romantic relationships. Don’t engage in anything outside studying; you can relax after the exam.” In university, professors would say: “This is your last chance—focus only on your major. Don’t get involved in anything else. Don’t have a romantic partner (yes, I’ve actually heard this). Don’t play games. Do all those things after you graduate.” Most of the individuals you see in university or the workplace who live solely through studying—with no other structure to their lives—are the products of this system. This generation lives without discipline unless faced with hardship; then, they try to escape it. For years, we’ve been taught that discipline means eating dry bread at the table while others enjoy milk—like enduring deprivation to achieve a goal. Discipline should be a lifestyle, not something squeezed into a narrow timeframe. True discipline isn’t about isolating your entire life to study for an exam—it’s about studying while still socializing, spending time with friends, cultivating hobbies, going to the gym, traveling, and doing all of these things while remaining productive in your work (studies, exams, your own business, etc.). Discipline is freedom. It means knowing what to do—and what not to do. More precisely: you avoid false pleasures and artificial goals. I’m not blaming the generation—this stems from the system. The previous generation built this system without realizing its consequences. That’s why we must approach everything with awareness.
