I Found the Formula for Self-Discipline (Literally)

Summary

这段视频脚本深入探讨了纪律的本质及其在个人生活中的重要性。通过分析一份关于美国军队如何培养纪律严明士兵的内部报告，视频揭示了纪律分为行为纪律（Discipline B）和态度纪律（Discipline A）两个方面，并强调了通过持续的训练和习惯养成，任何人都可以培养出纪律性。视频还提供了一个实用的公式，帮助观众开始成为一个更有纪律的人，包括设定标准、严格遵守、从小处着手以及建立纪律化的生活方式。

Takeaways

• 📜 自律不是单一的事物，而是由两个不同的类别组成：纪律行为（Discipline B）和纪律态度（Discipline A）。
• 🛡️ 纪律行为指的是可观察和可测量的行为标准，而纪律态度则指的是内在的自律态度。
• 📈 通过军事训练的例子，我们了解到自律是可以通过训练和习惯养成的技能。
• 🌟 自律的本质是自我控制和自我管理的能力，即使在不愿意的情况下也能坚持做应该做的事情。
• 📚 军事训练通过严格的日程安排和规则，迫使新兵服从命令，从而培养出纪律行为。
• 🏆 要成为自律的人，首先需要为自己的行为设定标准和规则，并且无论遇到什么情况都要坚持执行。
• 🚶‍♂️ 开始时从小处着手，选择那些你能够每天持续做到的小事，逐步建立起自律的习惯。
• 🔄 随着时间的推移，不断地在生活的各个方面增加规则和标准，从而构建起一个有纪律的生活方式。
• 🔒 在至少第一年内始终保持警惕，坚守自己的纪律，否则可能会失去已经培养起来的习惯。
• 🌱 通过持续的训练和习惯养成，纪律行为最终会成为习惯，从而转变为纪律态度，成为个人品格的一部分。
• 🏅 自律是通往自由的途径，它意味着对自我制定的规则的服从，是自我掌控和实现目标的基础。

Q & A

什么是纪律B和纪律A？

纪律B指的是可观察、可衡量的纪律行为，而纪律A则指的是内在的纪律态度。这两者共同作用，形成了一个真正有纪律的士兵或在我们的情况下，一个有纪律的自我。

军事训练中如何培养纪律B？

军事训练通过在新兵训练营（基础训练）中施加严格的结构和日常安排，以及对行为的严格要求和规定的遵守，来培养纪律B。新兵通过这种方式学习服从命令，无论他们个人的感受如何。

纪律对于个人生活的重要性是什么？

纪律是自我控制的力量，能够让人们日复一日地坚持做他们知道需要做的事情。它是个人发展、实现目标和提升生活质量的关键技能。

如何通过军事训练的例子学习自我训练纪律B？

通过设定行为标准和规则，然后严格遵守这些规则，无论个人感受如何，都可以培养自我训练的纪律B。这需要对自己制定的规则零容忍、零借口，始终保持一致性。

纪律A是如何形成的？

纪律A是通过长期的纪律行为训练，直到这些行为成为习惯，最终内化为个人品格和身份的一部分。这时，纪律不再仅仅是外在的强制，而是成为了个人内在的一部分。

亚里士多德如何描述纪律等美德的养成？

亚里士多德认为，美德最初是通过有意识地激活它们，通过习惯性的善行来养成的。最终，学习者将内化这些习惯性的行为，形成善的品格。

如何开始培养自我纪律？

首先要为自己设定标准和规则，然后无论遇到何种情况都要坚持执行这些规则。开始时可以从小事做起，确保自己能够始终遵守规则，然后逐渐增加更重要的事情。

为什么说遵守自我制定的规则是自由的体现？

因为当个人能够服从自己制定的规则时，他们就掌握了自己的行为和决策，这是真正的自由。这种自由意味着个人能够根据自己的价值观和目标来指导自己的生活。

如何确保自我纪律的持续性？

要始终保持警惕，不断强化和维护自己的纪律。在建立了一定的成功记录后，可以逐渐将纪律应用到生活的更多方面，始终保持对自己的规则和标准的尊重和遵守。

为什么说纪律是一种技能？

纪律是一种可以通过训练和实践获得的技能，它涉及到培养自我控制的能力，以及服从自己制定的规则。这种技能可以通过持续的训练和习惯养成来加强。

如何区分纪律和自控或意志力？

纪律不仅仅是单纯的自控或意志力，它是一个更全面的概念，包括了行为的一致性、遵守规则和标准，以及将这些行为内化为个人品格的一部分。

Outlines

00:00

📚 纪律的本质与重要性

本段落介绍了纪律的定义和重要性。纪律不仅仅是遵守规则，它是一种内在的自我控制力，能够让人日复一日地坚持做必要的事情。通过一份关于美国军队如何培养纪律严明士兵的报告，作者阐述了纪律的两个方面：纪律行为（Discipline B）和纪律态度（Discipline A），以及它们是如何共同作用于一个人，使其变得更加自律。此外，作者还强调了纪律是一种可以通过训练获得的技能，并且分享了一个视频，旨在帮助观众了解纪律的真正含义，并提供一个公式来帮助他们在生活中培养更多的纪律。

05:02

🏋️‍♂️ 通过训练获得纪律

这一段深入探讨了如何通过训练获得纪律，特别是纪律行为（Discipline B）。作者通过分析军队的训练方法，说明了纪律是通过强制性的行为规范和不断的重复来实现的。在军队中，新兵通过基本训练（boot camp）来学习服从命令，无论个人感受如何。这种训练的目的是让遵守纪律成为习惯，从而培养出行为上的可靠性。作者认为，这种方法同样适用于个人生活中，通过制定标准和规则，并严格执行，人们可以逐渐培养出纪律性。

10:02

🤼‍♂️ 解决内心的冲突

在这一段中，作者讨论了如何在日常生活中解决内心的冲突，以培养自我纪律。通过比较军队中的纪律训练和个人生活中的挑战，作者指出，尽管我们的挑战可能看起来微不足道，但解决内心的冲突对于自我纪律的培养至关重要。作者强调，自我纪律是一种自我尊重的体现，它要求我们对自己的承诺和命令保持严格的忠诚。此外，作者还提出了一个公式，用于创建自我纪律：制定行为标准并无论如何都要执行它们。

15:03

🛌 从小处着手，逐步建立纪律

本段落强调了从小处开始建立纪律的重要性。作者建议，通过制定简单易行的规则，如每天整理床铺，来培养纪律性。这样做可以帮助人们逐步建立起对自己规则的尊重，并最终实现100%的遵守率。随着时间的推移，可以逐渐增加更具挑战性的任务，从而逐步建立起一个有纪律的生活方式。作者还提醒我们，在培养纪律性的过程中，要始终保持警惕，以免在压力下放弃自己的标准。

20:04

🎯 纪律与自由的关系

最后一段讨论了纪律与自由之间的关系。作者引用亚里士多德的话，强调通过自我制定的规则来实现自由。通过不断地训练自己遵守规则，人们可以逐渐将纪律内化为自身的一部分，从而在面对挑战时能够自然而然地做出符合纪律的选择。作者通过提到前海豹突击队员Jocko Willink的例子，说明了当纪律成为个人身份的一部分时，人们将更加可靠和一致。最终，作者总结了如何通过制定标准、不妥协、从小处开始、保持警惕和持续训练来获得纪律，并强调这是实现自我掌控的最有价值的技能。

🚀 新内容预告与总结

在这最后一段中，作者对他的新在线课程进行了预告，并邀请观众获取更多信息。同时，作者对观众的观看表示感谢，并预告了下一个视频内容。此外，作者还强调了纪律对于个人成长和成功的重要性，并鼓励观众通过实践所学的方法来提升自己的纪律性。

Keywords

💡自我纪律

自我纪律是指个体对自己行为的控制和调节能力，它使人能够在即使不愿意的情况下也能坚持做正确的事情。在视频中，自我纪律被视为一种可以通过训练和习惯养成的技能，是提高生活质量和实现个人目标的关键因素。例如，军事训练中通过强制服从命令来培养纪律性，而在日常生活中，个体可以通过设定并遵守自己的规则来培养自我纪律。

💡行为可靠性

行为可靠性是指个体行为的一致性和可预测性。在视频中，这是军事训练中追求的目标，要求士兵在任何情况下都能执行命令。在个人发展领域，行为可靠性意味着个体能够持续稳定地执行自己计划中的任务，不受情绪或环境的影响，从而实现长期目标。

💡纪律B和纪律A

纪律B和纪律A是视频中根据军事报告提出的概念，用以区分两种不同类型的纪律。纪律B指的是可观察和可测量的行为纪律，如军事训练中的严格服从命令；而纪律A则指内在的纪律态度，即个体内化纪律行为成为习惯后形成的一种稳定的生活态度。两者共同作用，形成一个真正有纪律的个体。

💡自我控制

自我控制是指个体对自身冲动和欲望的管理能力，它使人能够执行对自己有益的长期计划，而不是屈服于短期的诱惑。在视频中，自我控制是自我纪律的重要组成部分，通过训练自己遵守规则，个体可以提高自我控制能力，从而更好地实现个人目标。

💡训练

训练在视频中指的是通过重复和实践来培养和加强纪律行为的过程。军事训练通过日常的严格规范和例行公事来训练新兵，使其形成纪律性。同样，个人也可以通过持续的训练和习惯养成来提高自我纪律，例如通过每天固定时间起床、锻炼等行为来培养自律。

💡标准

标准是指用来判断行为是否得当的规则或准则。在视频中，军事训练通过设定明确的行为标准来培养纪律性，而个人发展中，自我纪律的培养也需要为自己设定行为标准，并严格遵守这些标准。例如，制定每日工作计划并坚持完成，就是一个建立和维护自我纪律的标准。

💡承诺

承诺是指个体对自己或他人做出的保证或誓言。在视频中，遵守对自己的承诺是自我纪律的重要组成部分。个体需要对自己的目标和计划做出承诺，并通过行动来兑现这些承诺，以此来加强自我纪律和自我控制。例如，设定每天锻炼的目标并坚持完成，就是对自己做出并履行承诺的体现。

💡习惯

习惯是指长期养成的行为模式，它成为个体日常生活中自然而然会执行的行为。视频中提到，通过持续的训练和实践，纪律性行为最终会变成习惯，从而形成纪律性态度。例如，每天早起和锻炼如果坚持足够长的时间，最终会变成个体的习惯，不需要额外的意志力就能自然执行。

💡自我尊重

自我尊重是指个体对自己的价值和能力的认同和尊重。在视频中，自我纪律的培养与自我尊重密切相关。当个体能够遵守自己设定的规则并实现自己的承诺时，他们在自我尊重方面也会得到提升。例如，坚持完成自己设定的每日任务，不仅增强了自我纪律，也增强了对自己能力的信心和尊重。

💡自我领导

自我领导是指个体对自己行为和目标的管理和指导能力。在视频中，自我领导是培养自我纪律的关键，个体需要像领导者一样给自己设定目标和规则，并确保自己能够跟随这些指导原则行动。例如，为自己制定每日工作计划并严格执行，就是在自我领导方面展现自我纪律的例子。

💡自由

自由在视频中被解释为遵守自我制定规则的能力。当个体能够自律并坚持自己的标准和规则时，他们就获得了真正的自由。这种自由不是随意行为的自由，而是选择做对自己最有益事情的能力。例如，即使在感到疲倦或不愿意时，也能够坚持早起和锻炼，这种选择的自由是通过自我纪律获得的。

Highlights

军事报告揭示了军队如何将普通人转变为具有行为可靠性的纪律严明的士兵

自我纪律是力量和自我控制，日复一日地做你需要做的事情

Major Kevin S. Donahue在1993年撰写的《纪律的解剖》报告详细阐述了美国军队如何培养有纪律的士兵

纪律不仅仅是一种东西，而是两个不同的类别：纪律B（行为）和纪律A（态度）

纪律B指的是可观察的、可测量的纪律行为

纪律A指的是内在的纪律态度

军事训练通过结构化和日常化的纪律B开始，即基础训练或新兵训练营

新兵训练营通过强制服从命令，无论个人感受如何，来培养纪律B

纪律的关键在于内在化自我制定的规则，并将其转化为习惯

纪律A的形成是通过长期的训练和习惯化纪律B行为，最终转变为个人身份的一部分

亚里士多德讨论了如何通过有目的的行为激活来获取美德，最终形成美德的性格

纪律是通过外部控制的放松和内部控制的增强而获得的

通过自我制定的规则和标准来培养自我纪律

自我纪律的第一步是创建行为标准并严格遵守它们

建立自我纪律的过程中，从小处开始，逐渐建立起有纪律的生活方式

纪律是通过训练直到成为习惯而获得的，最终成为个人身份的一部分

自由是通过服从自我制定的规则来实现的

Transcripts

- I somehow found this internal military report

on their secrets to extreme discipline.

And what I found here is actually life-changing.

Think about it, procrastination, laziness

and not feeling like it.

None of that is tolerated in the military.

Somehow they're able to take average people,

thousands of them every year and teach them

what this paper calls behavioral reliability,

otherwise known as consistency.

Self-discipline is the power and self-control

to do the things you know you need to do day in and day out.

And this report has transformed my understanding

of how you acquire discipline and even what discipline

and self-discipline actually are.

Written in 1993 by Major Kevin S. Donahue,

the anatomy of discipline breaks down how and why

the US Army creates disciplined soldiers.

I'm not quite sure how I found this.

I haven't seen it anywhere else online,

but from it I feel that we can extract

a formula that anyone can use

to start becoming a more disciplined person.

In this video, you'll learn what discipline actually is,

how important it's to your life and a formula you can use

to get more of it.

Like I'm actually so excited for today's video

'cause you are gonna learn some extremely useful stuff.

This may be the most valuable video

I have made in a maybe ever.

So if you find even one good tip,

please let me know in the comments

and hit the like button if you wanna see more content

like this.

(wind whistling)

So the main idea of the document

is that discipline isn't really just one thing.

Instead it should actually be considered

two separate categories.

These categories both work together

to create a discipline soldier or in our cases

just a disciplined self.

But before we discuss the paper's idea

of military discipline,

let's take a look at the dictionary definition of discipline

so we're all on the same page.

I think the Cambridge definition of self-discipline

is probably most similar to what we think about

when we think to ourselves,

I wish I had more discipline.

Self-discipline is the ability to make yourself do things

you know you should do even when you do not want to.

I say that's pretty spot on in terms of the way

that we understand discipline.

And as I've learned and as you'll learn today,

discipline is actually a skill.

It's a skill that anyone can acquire

and it's a process of training yourself

to obey your own rules.

I quite literally cannot think of a skill

more valuable than this.

And for me, this document has unlocked exactly

how you do that.

So according to the military, discipline should be split

into two separate things, discipline B and discipline A.

Discipline behavior and discipline attitude.

Discipline B refers to the observable, measurable behaviors

of discipline.

Well, discipline A refers to internal disciplined attitude.

Both B and A together are what create

a truly disciplined soldier, and they're both acquired

in different ways.

And in the military, this entire process begins

with discipline B and what the military calls bootcamp,

otherwise known as basic training

(drill sergeant screaming)

Every year the US military needs to take thousands

of wide-eyed, uninitiated, young men and women

and turn them into a well-oiled, disciplined machine.

The moment the recruits step foot off the bus,

they'll leave their old lives behind

and be plunged into 10 weeks of what the document calls

a booster shot of discipline.

Here's what that looks like.

In basic training each day begins with yelling

and whistle blowing around 4:00 or 5:00 AM

(whistle blowing) (bell ringing)

(drill sergeant yelling orders)

- That was devastating.

I was like, I want to go home

- From there, recruits must spring into action

as they only have a few choice minutes to prepare themselves

for the grueling day ahead.

In the world of discipline B,

structure and routine are paramount.

Here nearly every moment is scheduled, accounted for,

and regulated, and nearly every behavior seems to be subject

to a rigid code of conduct.

Respond like this, hands at your sides, feet right here.

Every action must be executed exactly

according to instruction.

Rigid adherence to protocol is the only option available

to a recruit unless they want to endure one of several forms

of punishment, regardless of who they were before training,

recruits will have their desired

behavior drilled into them until it becomes habit.

In basic training, recruits are essentially

learning one thing above all else.

To obey orders, recruits must forget about what they feel,

what they think they want,

or even what they think they need.

These feelings must be subdued in service of obedience,

in service of following the orders that were given

to them at all costs and under extreme pressure.

Your orders don't care that you're tired, sore,

that you don't feel like it.

You've got to do what you've got to do no matter what.

(wind whistling)

Now, according to the document,

the protocol we've just described is how you create an army

of discipline soldiers.

And to sum it up, it's done by forcing the trainees

to behave in a rigid disciplined way.

Under threat of punishment, you do what you're told

and if you step outta line, your insolence will be punished.

And then essentially the habit of following orders,

no matter what is drilled in so many times

that it becomes habit.

In other words, what they're doing to create discipline B

is essentially just forcing themself to behave

in a disciplined way until they actually become disciplined.

And if this is what the military has deemed results

in disciplined behavior, I believe them.

Because let's think about it.

You and I are trying to master the art of doing

what you're supposed to do, even when you don't feel like it

to better our lives and better our character.

But in the military, having soldiers execute

on what they said they'd do,

having them behave in a predictable, reliable way

every single time is a matter of life and death.

You have to take thousands of people and train them all

to behave with what the document called

behavioral reliability.

Executing even and especially when they don't feel like it.

Like if you think about it, what they're actually training

them to do is silence every instinct in their body

that tells them to run away from danger

and run directly into it instead.

And the document actually describes this

in a really, really useful way for us

trying to create self-discipline.

They call it resolving the clash of wills within.

In the military's case,

it's the will to be disciplined/follow orders

versus the will to live.

Now in our case, the clash of will seems almost trivial

in comparison.

The will to do what you said you would do versus the will

toward relaxing, sleeping, eating, chilling,

the main manifestations of just not feeling like it.

But if you think about it, this resolution

is do or die in terms of our own lives.

Do you have the power to really commit to something

and show up for yourself every single day

regardless of how you feel?

Do you have the power to push past feelings of discomfort

to consistently do the things you know are best for you?

Do you have the power to silence all doubts, impulses,

desires inside you to execute the task at hand

over all the weeks, months, years that it might take

in order to reach your goals?

This is self-discipline.

It's the skill of showing up for yourself

when you need it the most.

It's doing the hard things day after day

for no other reason than you said you would.

Discipline is deferring to the authority

of your higher self, the self that knows what's best for you

and has crafted a meticulous plan to get you there.

A plan that would deliver to you the life of your dreams

if only you could stick to it.

Also, I hope you guys know that I'm saying all this

as someone who's also trying to be more disciplined,

not as someone who's like attained lots of discipline.

You know, it's funny, most of us would never think

of breaking big promises to our loved ones

or missing a deadline for our boss at work,

but then we're 100% comfortable letting ourselves down.

But in basic training, you basically don't have the luxury.

You're being forced to show up and perform

according to plan, no matter how you feel

Zero tolerance, no excuses, and there's a drill sergeant

literally screaming in your face

making sure that that happens.

But although their methods are a little different

than what we might be able to do at home.

The military's process of creating discipline B

reveals some core truths

about how we can create discipline ourselves.

I truly didn't comprehend this concept

until I made this video.

I didn't quite see how discipline differed from say,

self-control or willpower.

I also kind of thought it was just about just doing it,

or just forcing yourself every time you didn't feel like it.

And yeah, obviously it's a little bit of that,

but it's also a lot more than that.

So here's what we can take away about acquiring discipline B

from the military's example,

(wind whistling)

How to become disciplined.

One, discipline starts with standards.

In basic training, nearly every behavior

is subject to a standard, a rule.

It has a clear process for the way that it should be done.

Similarly, self-discipline starts with creating standards,

rules and plans for your own behaviors

and then following through with the rules

that you create for yourself.

Two, uphold said standards. Leave no room for compromise.

The military and its drill sergeants give zero (beep)

that you did not get enough sleep.

They don't care how you feel today.

They don't even care if you're sick.

They really don't care if there's a really good reason

that you can't.

If something is in order, it's in order. End of story.

This is again so revealing about how we can actually become

self-disciplined people.

Because how many of us, myself, very much so included,

have rough instructions a general guide

for what they want outta themselves each day,

but leave tons of room for compromise.

I'll make a to-do list for myself, knowing full well

writing them all down that I don't even have time

for half the things that I put on that list.

But if our goal is behavioral reliability like the military,

then this is an issue.

Because to cultivate self discipline, we need some rules

for ourselves that are never optional, zero compromise.

Like the military couldn't produce discipline B

if either A, the standards were unclear,

or B, the drill sergeants didn't uphold the standards

half the time because it's the combination of the both,

the rules and the adherence to those rules

that creates predictable, reliable behavior

when it matters most.

Think about what would happen if you tried to train a dog

to do something, but half the time you decided

that the dog's response was optional.

You ask them to sit, but you still gave them a treat.

If they didn't sit, the dog is learning that your rules

don't mean anything, they don't matter.

And so sometimes they'll sit and sometimes they won't.

And that's what you actually train them to do

by being inconsistent with your rules

and your standards of what you're asking of them.

So creating behavioral reliability, creating the conditions

that ensure that you show up for yourself every single time

is about following your own rules and taking your own orders

very seriously, I told you there was life changing stuff

in this video.

Like isn't that not just like.

In my opinion, this is all also a form of self-respect.

You're respecting the orders that you give yourself

as if there would be a harsh punishment,

as if there was a drill sergeant waiting

to give you a sugar cookie

if you didn't do what you said you would.

Now with self-discipline, there's obviously no one coming

to yell at you for breaking the promises

that you made to yourself.

So in this instance, you're both the soldier

and the sergeant, and to the extent

that the two have a solid, dependable relationship,

you get behavioral reliability, you get consistency

and predictability of behavior.

The drill sergeant creates the orders

and the soldier follows through no matter what.

That's their relationship and it's ultimately built

on respect.

How much respect you have for your own word?

Your answer will be dependent on your previous track record

of success and the relationship between the part of you

that creates the orders and the part of you that follows

through with the orders or doesn't.

So framing it this way you can see that every time

you break a promise to yourself,

it's your self-respect that's on the line.

In other words, you either build up or tear down

the power that you have over yourself with ever behavior

you do or don't follow through with.

So from this, we have our first formula

for creating self-discipline.

One, create standards for your behavior

and two, follow through with them no matter what.

Through this, you're building respect for the sanctity

of your own commands and you're building respect up

for yourself by following through

with what you said you'd do.

Which points to another important element

of self-discipline.

Three, set yourself up for success by only creating orders,

you can and will follow.

The tasks asked of a military recruit on day one

are a lot different than the tasks asked of them

on the first day that they step onto the battlefield.

You can't expect them to perform incredible feats

of discipline until they've been trained to do so.

That's obvious yet how many of us create

impossible standards for ourselves

and then beat ourselves up for not achieving them.

It's important to not only be the good soldier

that follows through, but also a good drill sergeant,

a good leader of yourself so that you have the opportunity

to build up that self-respect and self rapport.

I'm eroding my authority with myself

if I'm creating standards and rules for myself

that I can't possibly comply with.

If you're starting with zero self-discipline, no order,

no rules in your life that you have a track record

of consistently following through with,

then making your standard the like perfect daily routine

is not only unrealistic, but by the logic of this video,

detrimental to creating actual discipline

because then your drill sergeant is all bark and no bite.

Because if the drill sergeant is creating rules

that the soldiers can't win and they're unnecessarily cruel

or difficult to the men that they're trying to train,

then they're creating insubordination

because they haven't earned the men's respect.

A real leader challenges their team,

but at the current level, every time you create a rule

for yourself that's too hard or impossible

to follow through with, you undermine

that relationship within.

And finally, the fourth truth based on the document

is that four, discipline is acquired through training

until the point of habit.

Did anyone start watching this video thinking

that discipline is maybe like a thing

that you kind of have it or you don't

like a personality trait?

I know throughout my life the most people that I've known

that have been extremely disciplined have been kind of like

that their entire lives.

So it's definitely something that crossed my mind.

But the military example is just so illuminating.

In the army they train their officers to acquire discipline

by drilling the desired behavior into them

over and over again until the desired behavioral response

becomes habit.

And this according to the document,

is the beginning of the acquisition of discipline A.

So according to the document, once you've had so much

training and discipline, discipline, behavior,

that it becomes habit.

You transition to disciplined attitude.

But a better way of saying it is that at the point

that the transition occurs,

you move from merely behaving in a disciplined way

to actually being a disciplined person.

At this point, discipline actually seeps its way

into your character and identity and actually becomes

part of who you are.

This is when things get really interesting.

I think discipline A is what each of us are looking for,

when we say, ugh, I wish I had more discipline.

What we're really asking for is more of the skill

of discipline, the power to employ this tool as we need it.

Because as the document claims,

discipline control from without can only be relaxed safely

when it is replaced by something better,

control from within.

So until we transition to discipline A,

we're gonna have to be really mindful

about continually forcing ourselves into discipline behavior

over and over and over again.

So until this point, discipline is really something

that we're doing, but it's not really something

that we have.

We haven't actually acquired it as a skill yet

until we transition to discipline A.

And I thought it was really interesting that the document

then goes in quotes Aristotle in discussing

how exactly a virtue such as discipline might be acquired.

Quote, "Virtues are initially acquired

through their purposeful activation

leading to the habitation of virtuous deeds.

Eventually the learner internalizes the habitual behavior

leading to the next step of virtuous character."

And according to literally Aristotle,

once a virtue becomes part of your character,

becomes part of your identity, this is when things

really start to shift.

You start to behave more naturally in a way

that's more aligned with this new part of your self concept.

Once you've really and truly acquired discipline,

the choice to behave in a disciplined way

becomes the more natural choice to you.

The best way to explain this is probably

through Jocko Willink.

You somehow don't know who he is.

He's an ex Navy seal who like bleeds discipline,

whose whole brand is discipline, who has posted a screenshot

of his watch saying 4:30 AM,

the time he gets up to workout every single day

for like years now, his Instagram kills me.

At this point being this disciplined of a person,

it would probably in a way be more difficult for him

to behave in a way that's undisciplined

versus behave in the disciplined way.

It's hard to make that make sense.

It doesn't mean that he's not tempted to slack off.

I'm sure he does like everyone else,

but at this point, his identity is so intertwined

with the virtue of self-discipline,

he can really count on himself and his character to show up

and do the hard thing even and especially

when he really doesn't want to.

And obviously that's exactly what we're looking for

when we say I want more self-discipline.

We wanna be able to stay on track with our goals

no matter what.

We don't wanna be battered around by circumstances.

We wanna be in charge of ourselves when it matters the most.

We want to become masters of our minds.

We want to be able to choose the harder

but clearly better option in any and all situations.

So let's put everything that we've learned into a process

on how to acquire discipline for ourselves.

To acquire the virtue of discipline.

As we said before, one, start with our standards.

Create rules and standards for yourself.

Two, never break these promises to yourself.

Do not compromise an inch on these standards.

Three, the most important thing is to keep these promises

at all costs.

So therefore, start small.

Until you've established a track record of success,

you wanna be extremely cautious with which things

that you choose to be standards.

Now the classic military example is making your bed.

And I think this is pretty much the perfect discipline

for most people to start with.

As evidenced by the 49 million viewed video

by Admiral McRaven on the importance of making your bed.

- If you make your bed every morning,

you will have accomplished the first task of the day.

It will give you a small sense of pride

and it will encourage you to do another task

and another and another.

And by the end of the day, that one task completed

will have turned into many tasks completed.

Making your bed will also reinforce

the fact that the little things in life matter.

If you can't do the little things right,

you'll never be able to do the big things right.

And if by chance you have a miserable day,

you will come home to a bed that is made.

- But you have to be smart, if you're currently at a point

where you are always late for work or you're really chaotic

in the morning, then setting that as your first discipline,

you might be setting yourself up for failure.

The goal is 100% compliance rate.

So start silly small.

Start with something you 100% know you can do

every single day, essentially for the rest of your life.

Four, build up to a disciplined lifestyle.

As soon as you've established a track record of success

with the silly small stuff, one by one,

start to add in the most important stuff.

Starting with things like adhering to a daily routine

of your choosing, working out,

or getting some sort of physical movement every day

and disciplined with your school or work.

Those are obviously very vague,

but you wanna look within them for the specific behaviors

that you can turn into standards or rules.

Do it one by one as soon as you've mastered one,

move on to the next one.

And again, upholding these standards

is the most important part.

Five, expect to be on guard with all of these disciplines

for at least the first year.

If you drop your guard, you may drop your disciplines.

I quite literally cannot think of a more valuable skill

than training yourself to obey your own rules

and creating a lifestyle where you adhere to the standards

that you create for yourself.

Like if you don't have the skill, then what do you have?

You know, like I feel like this skill is really

the basis for any sort of self-mastery.

I've always really valued discipline and like looked up

to people who are really disciplined,

but I never quite understood

how you could actually get more of it.

And the classic advice seemed to just be,

to just force yourself.

It was missing that piece about discipline

really being this whole process of training yourself

to take yourself seriously.

And to end it all off with another Aristotle quote

to the point of all of this,

is that the reason that all of this is worth the effort

if it wasn't already obvious,

is that, "Freedom is obedience to self formulated rules."

AKA, the 300 BC version of Jocko's discipline

equals freedom.

Hope you guys are enjoying the first taste

of the new content.

And if you haven't heard yet, my new online course,

How to Change, is almost ready.

Click the link below if you're interested

in more information.

Thank you so much for watching

and I'll see you in the next one.

(upbeat music)