Discipline Equals Freedom
Summary:
This book of broetry argues that you should live your life according to the Way of Discipline.
While Willink is hyper-masculine, there is a certain Zen or Stoicism to his beliefs:
“How do I get tougher?” BE TOUGHER. “How can I wake up early in the morning?” WAKE UP EARLY. “How can I work out consistently every day?” WORK OUT CONSISTENTLY EVERY DAY. “How can I stop eating sugar?” STOP EATING SUGAR
This reminds me of the Buddhist maxim, “A finger pointing at the moon isn’t the moon” or many of the tenants for a living good life from Meditations or The Obstacle is the Way.
Interesting Takeaways
We understand how we are the way we are through the lense of Nature versus Nurture (we were born this way or we were made this way). The problem with that framing is it ignores the most important actor in making us who we are: ourself. What role do you have in who you are if the Nature argument is true and you’re just born this way? What role do you have in who you are if the Nurture argument is true and you were just raised this way? Both sides neglect any amount of agency (see What is High Agency).
You are not your thoughts (or the voice inside your head). This is in-line with the idea that, under the cover of hyper-masculinity, Willink is really just a modern Stoic or Buddhist. If you are not the voice inside your head then you don’t have to be controlled by that voice. Instead, you can control it.
Instead of a life goal (see Ultimate Concern), you should have what Willink calls a Warpath: constantly moving towards and preparing for the next battle.
Sugar is bad. Willink really has a thing against donuts.
“Good”: When you experience a setback, failure, delay, or defeat, the best response is simple: “good.” Regardless of what the bad thing is that happened, there’s going to be some good that comes from it. By forming the habit of responding this way to any setback, failure, defeat, etc, you’re really forming the habit of jumping to the good things that can come out of the bad thing. This is peak Over-indexing on certain traits or The Obstacle is the Way.
“Are you still breathing? Cool, then you’re fine. Keep going.” - my phrasing of Willink’s approach towards death and defeat.
Willink is a napper! There’s a whole chapter dedicated to power naps. The secret, according to Willink, is to raise your feet above your heart. Fifteen minutes max. Nap before eating, not after.
Meta Data
Source: Discipline Equals Freedom
Author: Jocko Willink
Relevant Context(s):
- _inbox/_someday/inquiries/Living a Good Life
- _inbox/_someday/inquiries/High-performance Knowledge Work
- Over-indexing on certain traits