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It isn't possible to achieve self-discipline without making some progress on those other principles; self discipline requries self-knowledge and an accurate assesssment of your current abilities. Likewise, the other principles can't really be put into action without self-disciples can't really be put into action without self-discipline. It is the channel through which all your personal power for success must flow. Think of your mind as a reserveoir in which you have been storing up potential power. You will now learn to release that power in precise quantities and specific directions. This is the essence of self-discipline. Most people act first and think about the consequesnces later. Self-discipline will reverse that process. You will learn to think before you act. Self-discipline calls for balancing your emotions with your reasoning. This means you must learn to consult both your fellings and your reason before you reach any decision. Sometimes you will need toset aside（驳回，撤销）your emotions and fllow the dictates of reason alone. Other times you will decide in favor of your emotions, modified by your reson. A happpy medium is imporant. Consider, for example, those people who are so in love that they will do anything for their beloveds. Thery are putty in the hands of other. They rarely amount to anything because they have no purposes of their own in life. You might wonder if this danger means that it would be sager and wiser to control your life strictly on the basis of reason and leave emotion out of every decisison. The answer is and emphatic no. | 
