In the Kingdom of God, "submission" should not be considered a four-letter word. ;)
When we look at the life of Christ, our example, we find that it is full of examples of His willingness to submit or subject himself to various authorities.

• Jesus submitted to his parents when he was a child.
  
  

  And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth; and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. Lk. 2:51-52.

• He submitted to the Old Testament Law when He walked as a man. He was circumcised as a child. He went to the synagogue and to the feasts.
  
  
• He was subject to the governing authorities of His time.
  
  

  And Jesus said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." Mk. 12:17.

• Jesus submitted to the direction and leading of God, the Father.
  
  

  Jesus therefore answered and was saying to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner." Jn. 5:19

• He submitted to the will of the Father, even unto death.
  
  

  ... not as I will, but as Thou wilt. Mt. 26:39

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; Eph. 5:1

• It is the will of God.
  
  
• We don't want the Word of God to be dishonored.
  
  
• We need order.
  
  
• We want to win the lost by our example.
  
  
• We want to avoid God's wrath.
  
  
• It is the right thing to do, as a matter of principle, for the sake of conscience.
  
  
• We want to be like Him.
  
  

• God
  

  Submit therefore to God. Jas. 4:7

• Believers
  

  ... and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. Eph. 5:21
  
  ... clothe yourself with humility toward one another 1 Pet. 5:5
  
  be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; Rom. 12:10

• Ministers and Spiritual Leaders (elders, group leaders, teachers, ...)
  

  Obey your leaders, and submit to them; for they keep watch over your souls, as those who will give an account. Heb. 13:17

• Governing Authorities / Human Institutions (government, law enforcement, bosses ...)
  

  Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. ... Wherefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience' sake. Rom. 13:1,5
  
  Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God ... 1 Pet. 2:13-15

• Paul and friends in Gal. 2:5 were not willing to "yield in subjection" to those who wanted the Gentile New Testament church to walk in Old Testament legalism, nullifying the work of the cross.
  
  
• Peter and the apostles in Acts 5:29 said, "We must obey God rather than men" when they were told to stop preaching the gospel.
  
  
• Abigail in the Old Testament disobeyed her husband's command (which endangered her household) to refuse rightful help to David.
  
  
• Believers around the world gather secretly for fellowship when doing so is against the law of their land.
  
  
• Jesus Himself did not submit to the corrupt man-created laws of the Pharisees and Saducees (Lk. 11:37-38).

He who resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. Rom. 13:2

Submission in Marriage Roles

Wives, be subject to your husbands, as it fitting in the Lord. Col. 3:18

Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. Eph. 5:22

Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior ... [adorn yourselves] with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hope in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands. 1Pet. 3:1-5

... be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be dishonored. Tit. 2:5

• mindless obedience:
  I think this is covered by understanding Godly disobedience. If someone, anyone, asks you to do wrong, respectfully and graciously say, "No." You are accountable before God for what you say and do.
  
  
• chunking your intellectand individuality in the waste basket:
  Submitting to a husband isn't about giving up your individuality, your personal tastes or your dreams. It's not about following your husband around drooling "yes man" phrases.

God created husbands and wives to be a team. Husbands are the leader, but their input alone is not enough (see Headship). The team needs your intelligence, your experience and your perspective also.
Submission is choosing to step into agreement with God's structure of order and trusting Him to work it for everyone's good.

"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE ®,
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission."