Never collect anything from anybody: childhood discipline that will go with me to the grave.
I need to appreciate my parents for the discipline they taught me while growing up. Without those things, I don't know how my life would have been as an adult, especially in a generation such as this.
I remember vividly, while growing up, how my parents would caution me never to receive a dime from anybody, whether known or a stranger. “If anyone gives you anything, reject it” she always says. At times, if a known person wants to give us a thing, we must seek permission from our parents before we accept it. As a result of this, I grew up thinking that anyone can do you evil with a gift.
This aspect of discipline saved my life from an untimely death because one fateful afternoon after I returned from school, I saw money on the veranda of our house. Instead of picking it up, I went to call my Mom, who later invited my dad to pick it up. My dad picked it up, and suddenly he began to have a burning sensation in the hand he used to pick up the money. In less than an hour, he couldn't do anything with his left hand. The hand was dead. My mom had to rush him to places where he was treated. Just imagine that I was the one who picked up the money, I don't think I would have survived it as a child.
Another event that happened to me as a child that has remained indelible was that some time ago, I came back home from school hungry. My parents were not at home and there was no food at home. A neighbour brought food for me, but I rejected it. They were surprised by how I was able to do so even though I was so hungry. Till today, I hardly accept food from neighbours, nor do I eat at someone's house.
As an adult, such discipline has helped me in the area of contentment. I try as much as possible to live within my means. I do not covet what my friends and neighbours have. I have a friend who always comes around to borrow clothes and shoes from me. I feel so irritated whenever he comes around to do so. It shows that he lacks contentment. No matter the situation, I am satisfied with what I have; what I don't have, I do not stretch to achieve. This is the power of discipline.
Moreover, as an adult, I don't go about begging people for things. I have some friends who will go to a politician's house and demand things as a form of loyalty. I do not do that. Some of them mistake it for pride, but they do not know that it's a result of the discipline I got from my parents.
These have helped shape my life in such a way that they have made me who I am today. Thanks to my parents