If you forced me to define discipline in a single sentence, I would describe it like this: to have power over myself.
But you are not forcing me, so I will expand.
Power is more than the ability to do something. It is the capacity to command, force, or assert dominance over something. And all discipline is power.
The power of our discipline varies according to its strength in that situation. Weaker discipline limits your power. Stronger discipline expands your power.
How does the strength or weakness of discipline express itself as power?
Any time two things come into conflict within you, one will assert its dominance over the other. An intention vs an impulse. A higher standard vs a lower standard. A delayed payoff vs an immediate gratification. An uncomfortable truth vs a comforting lie.
The battle is your discipline vs whatever is opposing your discipline. One will assert its power. One will force the other to back down. One will win the moment.
The stronger your discipline, the more powerful you are, and the more you win those moments. The weaker your discipline, the less powerful you are, and the more you lose those moments.
Something must win in each moment. The stronger power wins.
If you’re the kind of person who isn’t satisfied just thinking about this, you want to put it into action, start by identifying these 5 URGENT BATTLES OF DISCIPLINE in your life.
Brick by brick. Do the work.
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