Counting the Omer Day Eleven: Netzach of Gevurah

The aspect of gevurah (discipline) we explore today is netzach, endurance.

Any parent knows one of the secret to discipline is to be consistent. And any parent also knows it’s not necessarily that easy to be consistent. Many times we have good intentions about being consistent, but if a child is screaming, or if we’re in a hurry, or get distracted, we can sometimes give up and give in and the discipline goes out the window and instead of teaching the child what we wanted to teach, we teach a different lesson entirely: how to manipulate your parent to get what you want.

And that doesn’t even take into account the inconsistencies that can occur with two parents who aren’t in synch on disciplinary matters. That can multiply the problem as the child learns which parent to go to when with which request.

And this doesn’t only apply to parents; it applies in any situation where you discipline others. A manager needs to be consistent in how employees are disciplined. Playing favorites will destroy morale.

Endurance – staying consistent even when it’s not easy – is an important aspect of discipline.