Thoughtful Tuesday: Discipline Equals Freedom

I’ve listened to Jocko Willink on YouTube sporadically over the years (info about him here: Jocko Willink - Wikipedia) and I’ve always liked the following quote from him:

“Discipline equals Freedom.”

He even wrote a book with that title (which I have yet to read, along with so many other great books).

To onlookers, discipline might appear like suffering / an overly-restrictive way of living.

However, applying strict protocols to oneself, as Jocko argues, is actually liberating. Here are some examples:

If I am disciplined about my diet and exercise, I will achieve freedom from chronic diseases, medication, being a complete wreck by the time I am in my 70s, etc.

If I am disciplined about saving money, building my own business and investing, I will eventually achieve freedom from financial burden and reliance on employers to survive.

If I am disciplined regarding my education, I will be free from having to work menial, entry-level jobs forever.

Etc.…

Of course, there are no guarantees in life, but you get the point. Putting in the work now creates freedom in the future. Inputs equal outputs, as I’ve read both in this Skool and elsewhere.

What’s your opinion? Do you agree with Jocko regarding his claim that ‘discipline equals freedom’?

How has discipline made you free? How do you see it freeing you in the future?

How strict should one be, in your opinion? When should we break the rules and promises we set for ourselves and just ‘live a little’ (many people have told me to do that over the years, haha🤣)?

On a related note, I often like to apply what I call the ‘zero policy,’ for lack of a better term. This reduces ambiguity regarding things, such as eating sugar or drinking alcohol. If I simply follow a ‘zero sugar lifestyle’, there is no ambiguity regarding how much I should eat, should the opportunity arise.

‘Moderation’ is ambiguous, and doesn’t work. For some people, it could be one sweet per week. For others, it could be two per day. Zero is zero – simple, clear and liberating.

In my experience, it’s actually quite liberating seeing a cake or pile of cookies and saying to myself “sorry, I can’t have any.” There is simply no thinking, rationalizing, or negotiating with myself at all. Zero is zero!

I’d also argue that the entire saying, “everything in moderation,” leads to mediocre results, rather than excellence. If I eat junk in moderation, I’ll never be my best physically. If I work on my side hustles in moderation, I’ll never maximize my wealth. If I study in moderation, I’ll never learn all I could about a subject of interest, etc.

There’s only so much time in a day though! We cannot do everything to 100% of our capacity 100% of the time (that is a segway into the topic of ‘trade-offs,’ which is another topic for another day).

To finish, a quote from Jocko that I really need to apply to myself:

“Stop researching every aspect of it and reading all about it and debating the pros and cons of it … Start doing it!”

Thanks for reading. I am keen to read your thoughts on all this, as always.

Happy Tuesday! It’s still early in the week to get after it, in case you missed Monday! 💪😊

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