Daniel's notes on Discipline Is Destiny

Aristotle describing virtue: "We become builders by building and we become harpists by playing the harp," he wrote. "Similarly, then, we become just by doing just actions, temperate by doing temperate actions, brave by doing brave actions." Virtue is something we do.

An ordinary person in a developed nation has at their disposal luxuries and opportunities that all-powerful kings were once impotent to acquire. We are warm in the winter, cool in the summer, stuffed full far more often than hungry. We can go where we want. Do what we want. Believe what we want. With the snap of our fingers, pleasures and distractions appear. Bored where you are? Travel. Hate your job? Change it. Crave it? Have it. Think it? Say it. Want it? Buy it. Dream it? Chase it.

If we don't dominate ourselves physically, who and what does dominate? Outside forces. Laziness. Adversity. Entropy. Atrophy. We do the work, today and always, because it's what we're here for. And we know that while it might seem easy to take it easy and more pleasurable to indulge our pleasure centers, in the long run, it is a far more painful route.

Gehrig was fully ready to admit that his discipline meant he missed out on a few pleasures. He also knew that those who live the fast or the easy life miss something too—they fail to fully realize their own potential. Discipline isn't deprivation... it brings rewards.

He knew that getting comfortable was the enemy, and that success is an endless series of invitations to get comfortable. It's easy to be disciplined when you have nothing. What about when you have everything? What about when you're so talented that you can get away with not giving everything?

There's an old story about Gehrig's first game with the Yankees, when he started his streak. He was supposedly hit with a ball that day too. "Do you want us to take you out?" the manager asked. "Hell no!" Gehrig was said to have exclaimed. "It's taken me three years to get into this game. It's going to take more than a crack on the head to get me out."

Like Lou Gehrig, each of us is in a battle with our physical form. First, to master it and bring it to its full potential. Second, as we age or get sick, to arrest its decline—to quite literally wrest the life from it while we can. The body, you must understand, is a metaphor. It's a training ground, a proving ground for the mind and the soul.

In Marcus Aurelius's Meditations, we hear the most powerful man in the world trying to convince himself to get out of bed at dawn when the lower part of himself wants desperately to stay. "Is this what I was created for?" he asks of his reluctance. "To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?"

When you have trouble waking up, when you find it hard, remind yourself of what is at stake. Think, as Morrison did, of her grandmother, who had more children and an even harder life. Think of Morrison herself, who certainly did not have it easy, and still got up early. Think of how lucky you are. Be glad to be awake. Feel the joy of being able to do what you love. Cherish the time. But most of all, use it.

We are meant for more than simply existing. We are here for more than just lying around and seeking pleasure. We have been given incredible gifts by nature. We are an apex predator, a freakishly elite product of millions of years of evolution. How will you choose to spend this bounty? By letting your assets atrophy?

Swim, Lift weights. Train in jujitsu. Take long walks. You can choose the means, but the method is a must: You must be active. Get your daily win, Treat the body rigorously, as Seneca tells us, so that it may not be disobedient to the mind. Because as you're building muscle, you're also building willpower. More important, you're building this willpower and strength while most people are not.

The space where great work is done is holy. We must respect it. Because a person comfortable with a messy workspace will become comfortable with sloppy work. A person who doesn't eliminate noise will miss the messages from the muses. A person who puts up with needless friction will eventually be worn down.

Imagine what you could get done if you had the discipline to proactively put everything in order first. If you committed to orderliness and enforced it on yourself. Don't think of that as another obligation, another thing to worry about. Because in practice, it will free you.

A scout walked Gehrig through the very basic math of a batting average. A good hitter hits .300, and hitting .350 is terrific. Hitting .400 is almost unheard of. What does that translate to? Missing on six tries out of ten. A hitter can also go days, weeks, without touching the ball! The most important thing a young ball player can learn is that he can't be good every day. You don't have to always be amazing. You do always have to show up. What matters is sticking around for the next at bat.