You can have “pain of discipline or pain of regret”, Jim Rohn
You have no choice but to journey through different stages of life. A teenager you can be reckless but as a adult, he has no choice but to provide for yourself. At different stages of our lives, we will face different challenges. We can choose to prepare ourselves to deal with those challenges or suffer the consequences.
A teenager decides that he does not want to study or learn a trade. Years later he realizes that it is hard to find work without any education or skills. It is harder still to live on minimum wage. Unfortunately, it will now be harder to become skilled or get an education. Everything becomes harder after the best before date.
A couple decides that they can wait to save for retirement. Before they know it, they are in their fifties and old age is approaching. It is too late to start saving for a comfortable retirement. They will probably have to work into their seventies.
A carpenter is undisciplined. He comes to work when he wants, leaves when he wants, and doesn’t pay much attention to the quality of his work. Over time and after several jobs, he finds himself unemployable. The word has gotten around about his unreliability and lack of work ethic. Employers will rather keep a position vacant then hire him. It will take a lot of hard work and discipline to make himself employable again.
We all have a choice to make. Are we going to suffer to discipline ourselves to do what is necessary today or keep suffering from the regret and consequences or not being disciplined for the remainder of our lives.