How does a tidy workspace add to your quality of life? Why should you deliberately subject yourself to unpleasant experiences?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Discipline Is Destiny<\/em>, Ryan Holiday explains what discipline is and why it matters. He describes how to practice<\/a> discipline throughout various stages of your life, which will help you resist urges that will knock you off course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read below for an overview of Discipline Is Destiny<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n In Discipline Is Destiny<\/em><\/a>, Ryan Holiday examines the power of discipline through the lens of the ancient Greek philosophy of Stoicism. Holiday argues that your ability to practice discipline\u2014one of the four cardinal virtues of Stoicism\u2014determines how successful you are (aka your destiny). This is because it dictates whether you work consistently and avoid the temptations that prevent you from attaining or maintaining success<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Holiday is one of the most well-known modern-day philosophers. He has written and co-written several best-selling books on Stoicism, including The Obstacle Is the Way<\/em><\/a> <\/em>and <\/em>Ego Is the Enemy<\/em><\/a>. <\/em>Published in 2022, Discipline Is Destiny<\/em> is the second book in his four-part series highlighting each of the cardinal virtues of Stoicism. (Courage Is Calling<\/em><\/a> was the first.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n Holiday asserts that discipline is the ability to restrain your baser urges in pursuit of what\u2019s best for you. When you\u2019re disciplined, you act with moderation, and you prize your ability to have total control over yourself. Like all humans, you face temptations, but you can resist these temptations when you need to\u2014and if you do<\/em> choose to indulge in them, you do so with restraint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Holiday asserts that discipline matters for four reasons. First, discipline prevents you from taking the four cardinal virtues of Stoicism (courage, wisdom, justice, and temperance or discipline) to extremes<\/strong> and turning them into flaws. For example, extreme courage might also be characterized as recklessness. Since discipline is predicated on practicing moderation, it prevents you from taking the cardinal virtues too far and thus not<\/em> living a good life<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Second, discipline leads to a good life<\/strong>. Holiday explains that when you\u2019re disciplined, you make better choices with your time: You regularly work to fulfill your purpose<\/a> (which we\u2019ll discuss in detail later) rather than wasting time with less important endeavors, such as watching Netflix every evening. The more time you spend working on your purpose, the more likely you are to fulfill it\u2014and thus reap the benefits of doing so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Third, Holiday asserts that discipline lets you keep your good life<\/strong> because it stops you from allowing your emotions or baser urges to take control. When you\u2019re disciplined, you take a moment to actively choose<\/em> how to react to any situation that you face. As a result, even if you feel powerful emotions, they don\u2019t dictate your actions and cause harmful consequences. For example, despite your fury at your boss, you listen quietly to her scolding and choose to look for another job on your own terms rather than exploding at her and getting fired. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lastly, Holiday argues that discipline makes you self-aware<\/strong>. You\u2019re able to recognize when you risk overindulging in something potentially harmful and thus stop yourself from doing so. This is true both of physical pursuits, like food or alcohol, and of certain character traits. For example, you may be ambitious, but you don\u2019t take it to the extreme of constantly pursuing power and ignoring other things that matter, like your relationships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that you know what discipline is and why it matters, we\u2019ll discuss how to practice it. In this section, we\u2019ll first discuss why identifying your purpose is essential to practicing discipline. Then, we\u2019ll discuss how discipline helps set the stage for tackling your purpose and helps you actually<\/em> fulfill it. Finally, we\u2019ll discuss how practicing discipline can help you effectively face the hardships you encounter\u2014and maintain any success you achieve. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Holiday argues that to practice discipline effectively, you must first identify your purpose<\/a>. <\/strong>Discipline requires that you work consistently toward a purpose and avoid temptations that distract you from that purpose. This is impossible if you don\u2019t know what your purpose is. Holiday describes purpose as work that is inherently<\/em> enjoyable and not something you do in pursuit of external rewards. Truly loving your work<\/a> is what will allow you to keep doing it despite the many challenges you may face\u2014because while doing the work<\/a> is hard, not<\/em> doing this work is unimaginable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you identify your purpose, you must set the stage<\/strong> to tackle it by preparing your body and environment<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Holiday asserts that taking care of your body<\/a><\/strong> ensures you\u2019re healthy enough to pursue your purpose<\/strong>. So eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly, and rest adequately. Eating well supports your health and lets you practice resisting temptation<\/a>. Exercising regularly and pushing through physical challenges fortifies your ability to push through mental challenges. Getting enough rest provides your body with a chance to restore itself; working excessively to the point of ignoring your body\u2019s needs is not<\/em> discipline and will likely backfire eventually. And sleeping well improves your ability to make hard decisions<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Holiday also recommends that you straighten up<\/strong> your workspace and your appearance<\/strong>\u2014both of which also<\/em> set the stage for you to tackle your purpose. He argues that organizing your workspace<\/a> frees up the mental energy<\/a> you need to focus on your purpose<\/a> and reduces the feeling of overwhelm by the massive amounts of information you encounter in your daily life\u2014whether in emails or physical clutter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Similarly, straightening up your appearance puts you in a better mindset to work than being unkempt. Moreover, your appearance affects how positively others<\/em> perceive you and whether they want to work with you. While excessively focusing on fashion is undesirable, dressing well may allow you to connect with people<\/a> who are essential to your work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Practicing discipline doesn\u2019t just help you identify your purpose and prepare you to tackle it; it also helps you fulfill<\/em> that purpose by leading you to prioritize your purpose and behave appropriately when you\u2019re working toward it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Holiday explains that when you\u2019re disciplined, you prioritize your purpose <\/strong>by regularly refusing potential opportunities that would divert your attention from what matters most. Set clear limits regarding what you\u2019re willing to do and with whom you\u2019re willing to speak, and avoid people who try to cross those limits. But don\u2019t try to do it all yourself: Willingly accept or pay for any help that buys you time to reflect on whether<\/em> you\u2019re doing what\u2019s most important and to actually do<\/em> that work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prioritizing your purpose also requires that you design<\/strong> your schedule around your purpose.<\/strong> Wake up early so that you can focus on the most important work. Doing what matters first<\/em> not only ensures that you\u2019re not distracted by others\u2019 demands (since they\u2019ll still be asleep), but it also ensures that you actually do<\/em> the thing you want to do instead of procrastinating\u2014and potentially never getting around to doing it. Once you set this schedule, stick to it every<\/em> day\u2014even on the days when it\u2019s difficult to do so. Most people struggle to remain consistent. So if you can master consistency, you\u2019ll steadily improve\u2014and ultimately, grow more than those who don\u2019t do it every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As you go through life, you\u2019ll inevitably encounter hardship. However, Holiday asserts that practicing discipline can help you deal with three types of hardship: pain, negativity, and failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To deal with pain, Holiday asserts that you must practice discipline by learning to tolerate pain<\/strong>. You must fight through your hardships (which are inevitable) if you want to have any chance of success<\/a>. These hardships may seem impossible to overcome, especially if you\u2019re experiencing significant physical pain or major mental health issues. However, Holiday insists that you must find a way to keep going despite this pain, whether that\u2019s by finding an effective way to deal with it (such as by working through trauma) or by choosing to ignore it so you can work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To deal with negativity, Holiday asserts that you must practice discipline by resisting the urge to fight back. <\/strong>If someone behaves poorly toward you, you may understandably want to fight against them or defend yourself. But doing so likely won\u2019t improve the situation and may even worsen it. So it\u2019s best to choose not<\/em> to engage with negativity\u2014even when it seems impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Holiday asserts that dealing with failure<\/a> in a disciplined manner requires that you learn to handle it with grace<\/strong>. In general, don\u2019t treat failure as an excuse to stop; remain persistent and pursue your goals<\/a> despite<\/em> the failure. Also, show yourself compassion: Instead of bombarding yourself with negative self-talk<\/a> when you fail, talk to yourself as you would a friend. That said, don\u2019t prioritize persistence above all else. Pushing forward is virtuous, but if you\u2019re unable<\/em> to admit that you need to stop because you\u2019re not doing well, you\u2019ll keep going even when you shouldn\u2019t\u2014and ultimately encounter an even more agonizing defeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Self-discipline isn\u2019t just <\/em>important in hard times\u2014it\u2019s also essential to maintaining your success in good times. Holiday asserts that practicing discipline can help you with four things that come with success: ego, pleasure, power, and money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Holiday asserts that to practice discipline well, you must first keep your ego<\/a> in check<\/strong>. Your success with self-discipline may make you a role model<\/a> that other people want to follow, but don\u2019t expect<\/em> that others will practice discipline just because you<\/em> are doing so. Instead, focus your energies on your own behavior and let others do what they will. Similarly, don\u2019t let your ego convince you that you no longer need self-discipline. The more successful you become, the greater the temptations you\u2019ll face\u2014but if you want to maintain<\/em> that success, you need to continue practicing the discipline that made you successful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, don\u2019t let your ego tie you to habits that no longer serve you. Holiday warns that you may grow so attached to the habits that made you successful that you stick to them\u2014even when they\u2019re not having the same impact they had before. Prevent this by regularly examining your routines and modifying them if they\u2019re no longer working. Otherwise, you won\u2019t be able to keep up with the world as it changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Holiday, another way to practice discipline when you\u2019re successful is to look for opportunities to make your life less<\/em> pleasant<\/strong>, such as by immersing yourself in cold water. Regularly experiencing displeasure will make you unafraid of living without the trappings of success, which may be an essential skill if you ever lose your fortune. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, the Roman philosopher Seneca possessed great wealth, but he regularly went without\u2014for instance, by sleeping on the ground\u2014to remind himself that he could handle being poor and that losing his wealth was not as terrifying as it seemed. This habit came in handy when he fell out of favor with the emperor Nero: Seneca was able to willingly give Nero all his riches in exchange for his life because he was unafraid of losing the trappings of success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Holiday suggests that another way to practice discipline is by learning how to handle power<\/strong>. Contrary to popular opinion, gaining power doesn\u2019t give you extra perks; rather, power is<\/em> the perk. Therefore, you ought to do more<\/em> than the people below you\u2014not less, as most are wont to do. For example, when former Defense Secretary (and then-Brigadier General) James Mattis encountered a soldier performing guard duty on Christmas Day, he sent the soldier home to enjoy the holiday and worked guard duty himself\u2014instead of deciding that his holiday off was a perk of power. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, you must learn to give up power. The most self-disciplined people have control over themselves; as a result, they don\u2019t desire control over others. Moreover, they understand that having too much power often leads to self-destruction\u2014and so they\u2019re willing to give it up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, Holiday argues that practicing discipline when you\u2019re successful requires you to adjust your view of money<\/a><\/strong>. Some people believe that if they make enough money, they\u2019ll be able to do whatever they want. They won\u2019t need self-discipline because they can spend freely and ignore others\u2019 opinions. But while money can make your life easier<\/a>, it can\u2019t free you from all<\/em> life\u2019s worries; you\u2019ll still need self-discipline to handle them. So instead of needlessly striving for money that will let you do whatever you want, strive for an amount that allows you to live in accordance with your purpose. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How does a tidy workspace add to your quality of life? Why should you deliberately subject yourself to unpleasant experiences? In Discipline Is Destiny, Ryan Holiday explains what discipline is and why it matters. He describes how to practice discipline throughout various stages of your life, which will help you resist urges that will knock you off course. Read below for an overview of Discipline Is Destiny.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":93607,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,7,21],"tags":[994],"class_list":["post-100482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","category-lifestyle","category-philosophy","tag-discipline-is-destiny","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nDiscipline Is Destiny<\/em><\/strong> by Ryan Holiday<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What Is Discipline? <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How to Practice Discipline<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Identify Your Purpose<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Set the Stage <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Fulfill Your Purpose <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Deal With Hard Times<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Deal With Pain<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Deal With Negativity<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Deal With Failure<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Maintain Your Success<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Handle Your Ego<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Handle Pleasure<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Handle Power <\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Handle Money<\/h5>\n\n\n\n