Anthony Michaelson

Chop wood, carry water

The Art of Self-Discipline

Discipline is a form of art. The most fitting definition being:

Art - skill acquired by experience, study, or observation.

Self-discipline is not taught in most schools, yet it’s the essential basis from which knowledge itself is attained and a meta-skill from which all others arise. The root of the word discipline is Latin’s disciplina, meaning, “instruction, knowledge” and is why one definition of discipline is:

Discipline - a branch of knowledge, typically one studied in higher education.

This also is why we have the word disciple which means “a follower or student of a teacher, leader, or philosopher”.

Another definition is:

Discipline - activity or experience that provides mental or physical training.

Personally, I find both definitions miss the mark.

Redefining Discipline

I have found that discipline involves two fundamental human traits:

Will - the power of control over one’s own actions or emotions.

Decision - to make a final choice.

Decide originates from Latin’s caedere, meaning, “cut” which became decidere, meaning, “determine”.

This is why I chose a statue of Miyamoto Musashi wielding a sword as an illustration of discipline. Decision literally means to cut and the symbol of discernment is the sword.

Now I can create a definition that reflects my experience by saying:

Discipline - The adherence of will to decision.

If your will is strictly bound to your decision then you will act in accordance with your desire, free of conflict.

Self-Discipline

You may think there’s a distinction between being disciplined and self-discipline. The reality is that you can only be externally motivated or coerced into self-discipline. No matter what the consequences are, you control your own will and cannot be made to take action without your consent.

All discipline is self-discipline. Externally motivated self-discipline is the adherence of your will to your decision in its weakest form.

Military Discipline

People often cite military training as a strong example of externally motivated discipline.

I’ve been through several military schools and have observed masses of individuals being coerced into self-discipline over long periods of time. The reason military training strengthens self-discipline within the individual is because the school entrains the mind with the habit of discipline. Once the external motivation is removed the individual can step in place of the authority and command themselves.

A possible consequence of learning self-discipline by means of external punishment is that after the individual completes their training and has learned this habit they can be victimized by their own ego playing the role of the inner authoritarian. It requires wisdom to harness the power of such training without a habit of self-harm.

The level of self-discipline that is maintained by such graduates depends on how important of a skill it is to them. Most people undervalue the skill, underestimate its fragility or both.

The military is famed for discipline in the public eye, yet many of its members struggle to maintain this gift which demands constant attention and practice.

The truth is that without understanding the value that self-discipline has you won’t develop or maintain it. It can’t be given to you. You have to earn it for yourself.

You don’t need the military to learn self-discipline, you need to learn how to listen to yourself.

Listening to Yourself

At the end of your day do you have regrets over failures to listen to yourself? Situations where you are very clearly expressing your inner will and not doing it? Do you feel in conflict with yourself as one half gives an order and the other half does something else? The state of such a mind is a crisis!

Someone in such a state must make this their utmost priority. Clarity, poise, a strong intent, willpower, decisiveness, relaxation and even surrender are all qualities of a mind without self-conflict.

The most important thing you can do is resolve inner conflict. The way to do that is by self-discipline. Otherwise progress in every area of your life will be hampered.

When your will is divided by indecision you will fail to act with heart, integrity, or intensity. You will mostly fail to act at all.

Make a conscious choice to make concrete decisions with 100% of your will and commitment behind them. Abandon indecision and leave no room for conflict. A choice undecided leaves your will divided.

You must listen to yourself and do your will. To leave your will undone is painful.

Practice

It really is this simple. You must listen to your will and do it, that is self-discipline.

Begin a daily practice of:

  • making concrete decisions
  • adherence to your will
  • persistence

Employ your natural gift of emotional intensity and certainty when making a decision and following your internal voice. The strength of your conviction has a direct relation to the intensity of your willpower.

Some say there is a limit to your willpower. That is wrong, there is no limit. There is only the limit of your conviction.

When you say you’ll do something then do it at all costs. By doing what you promise to others you build the strength to do what you promise to yourself. After you practice this you’ll promise a lot less and do a lot more.

Yes, it will take time to learn. Luckily it doesn’t matter how much time it takes because you’re going to do this every day for the rest of your life.

You’ll get it sooner or later. Start now and stay persistent!

Methods of Practice

Your methods depend on your level of experience. Here are some self-training activities from my own life. You may use them as inspiration in your own practice. Difficulty is in the eye of the beholder, i.e. giving yourself a day off could be trivial for one person but feel impossible for another.

  • Be on time
  • Never hit the snooze button on your alarm, GET UP!
  • Drive exactly the speed limit (even when tailgated)
  • Honor your loved ones
  • Take cold showers or ice baths
    • I strongly prefer baths
  • Exercise your body
    • To do this consistently and without exhausting yourself to the point of future aversion is mastery
  • Do something on a regular schedule (like exercise)
  • Wake up early enough to have a morning routine you love
  • Give yourself time to relax
  • Do something with high intensity on a day you absolutely do not want to
  • Eat a strict diet for x number of days
  • Perform in public
    • This trains my focus as public opinion is most distracting
  • Sit in a loud and obnoxious public place to do critical thinking
  • Go out with friends to a bar and only drink water
  • Go out to eat with friends and refuse foods you decide not to eat
  • Go out dancing and do what you think is dancing with no regard for the opinions of others
  • Go on a seriously long run
  • Wait 2 weeks before you buy anything you want
  • Do a free online college course
  • Grow fresh herbs in your yard or kitchen
  • Learn something you’ve put off forever
  • Learn something you think you can’t possibly do
  • Put artificially tight deadlines on things you want done and push yourself
  • Get addicted to nicotine and quit cold turkey (advanced)
    • I do this often and is one of my favorites
    • Smoking socially also is a high self-discipline activity
  • Stretch your body
  • Sit and meditate
  • Summit a mountain
  • Don’t eat anything with sugar for x days
  • Do intermittent fasting
  • Do x days of water fasting (advanced; be careful)
  • Learn how to do 30 pull ups, or a big number.
  • Tell people NO!
  • Tell yourself NO!
  • Limit yourself to only getting 3 things done today (or X number)
  • Don’t go to sleep tonight
  • Spend time reading books every day
  • Write in a journal
  • Live without a cell phone
  • Don’t multitask
  • Get rid of your big screen TV
  • Get rid of your video games
  • Work a 12 or 18 hour shift
  • Work a 24, 48, or 72 hour shift
  • Pick up trash on the side of the road
  • Do a task as slow as you possibly can
  • Quit drinking caffein cold turkey
    • Then start again
    • Then stop again and repeat
  • Don’t yell at your kids for x minutes, days or ever
  • Dismantle negative thoughts about yourself
  • Dismantle negative thoughts about others
  • Love yourself
  • Love others

This list is just inspiration. Take what is useful. Don’t get the impression that I do all of this all the time either! I do them as needed or desired.

All that matters when building a new skill is putting the time in. Don’t listen to any reasons not to do it. Just get going, the damn will break and you’ll gain momentum.

… and remember

“Everything is hard before it is easy”, Goethe.

Conclusion

Self-discipline is divine. The more you have the better you feel. Doing what you say to yourself and others is liberating, invigorating and revitalizing to the spirit! Imagine yourself living days when you lay to sleep and know you’ve done your best. There is no room for doubt to haunt you or regrets to multiply. By acting more and more all your acts will add up. Soon your habit of action will not only clear your tasks for today but also for all the yesterdays, annihilating a heavy past of regrets.

Practicing self-discipline and knowing you’re doing your best means if you still fall short at the end of the day you’ll learn from it instead of regretting it.