Today’s internet landscape bombards us with motivational quotes and videos which are intended
to inspire and get things done.
But motivation only gets one started; to accomplish something, we need to put in work.
Working towards a goal requires effort and repetition.
And aside from some exceptions, there often aren’t any shortcuts to attaining a significant
goal, like mastering driving or finishing an academic education.
We may be highly motivated, but we’ll get nowhere if we don’t act.
Many people struggle with engaging in repetitive action over a period necessary to achieve
their goals.
There’s an intent, a wish, but no meaningful movement forward.
These people lack what’s probably the missing key to the door leading to accomplishment:
self-discipline.
Discipline is a controlled effort that requires self-restraint and obedience to specific rules
like a schedule.
Discipline generally gets a bad rep, as it sounds unromantic and tiresome and reminds
us of the strict regimes of militaries and boarding schools.
But self-discipline gets the job done.
Moreover, self-discipline often leads to inner peace, as structure and predictability reduce
stress evoked by uncertainty.
The Stoics considered discipline a virtue, along with other related qualities like perseverance,
endurance, high-mindedness, and self-control.
The Stoics favored hard work and spending their days wisely.
Seneca, for example, urges us not to waste our time and act now as life is short.
Marcus Aurelius points to nature, concluding that we naturally tend to be hard-working.
This video explores Stoic philosophy that may help develop self-discipline.
If you love reading, the book Stoicism for Inner Peace might interest you.
It’s a bundle of collected works, edited, revised, and expanded.
Stoicism for Inner Peace is available on Amazon as a paperback and ebook.
Links below.
The Cambridge dictionary describes self-discipline as “the ability to make yourself do things
you know you should do even when you do not want to.”
Making oneself do certain things requires self-control to resist engaging in activities
that don’t contribute to our goals.
Also, it requires a drive to get to work and a target to work towards.
So, if we do what we should do and refrain from what we shouldn’t, we’re disciplined,
which sounds easy, but for many, it isn’t.
These three ‘dimensions,’ if you will, namely self-control, work, and aim, were praised
by the ancient Stoics and are thus embedded in Stoic philosophy.
Even though the Stoics sought inner peace, they weren’t lazy: they knew that living
in agreement with nature meant, for us, humans, using our bodies and minds appropriately by
being productive, active, and contributing to the whole.
We’re not to waste our inherent attributes; we ought to use them properly.
Epictetus argued that the engagement in adversities made Hercules Hercules.
What would have become of him if he had not used his powerful physique and noble soul?
The world offered him challenges that called a strong man like Hercules to take up, as
he was built for them and not for snoring away his life.
By following his natural inclinations, he not only developed into a hero; he also contributed
to society by getting rid of many dangers to his kin.
It was a win-win situation.
So, how do we build self-discipline according to Stoic philosophy?
Let’s explore some relevant Stoic ideas.
Epictetus stated that we should treat life as a banquet: if a dish stops in front of
us, we should take some in moderation.
If it hasn’t reached us yet, we shouldn’t grab it.
If it passes us by, we shouldn’t stop it.
But even better would be if we can reject what’s set before us; such strength makes
us divine.
Self-control is a vital part of being self-disciplined.
Through self-control, we can restrain ourselves from not doing things we shouldn’t be doing.
Working towards a specific goal, for example, writing a thesis, is theoretically a simple
task.
We just need to put in the necessary hours of research and writing to finish it.
However, in reality, people struggle with such an undertaking.
For a significant part, this struggle exists because of how they handle distractions.
Unfortunately, we have no control over the distractions life throws at us.
As Epictetus mentions: things not in our control are whatever are not our own actions.
But we have control over how we position ourselves towards the things we cannot control.
Regarding distractions, we can’t control people inviting us for drinks, the latest
season of our favorite television series being released, or people trying to bring us down
by criticizing and opposing us.
No matter how much we try to resist, the world will always have plenty of things to offer
that potentially grab our attention and persuade us to change our minds about our choices.
It’s probably only increasing due to technological developments.
Of course, we can influence the number of distractions we’re exposed to by limiting
our contact with the outside world and arranging our living environment accordingly.
But ultimately, the outside world, including our close environment, is up to Fortune.
So, what can we do?
We can strengthen our self-control.
We can bolster ourselves against inevitable distractions, reinforcing our resolve to finish
what we wish to finish.
If we have the strength to reject what’s set before us, temptations will not sway us
from our cause.
Self-control takes practice; we must master it through exposure and repetition, so we
invigorate our ability to restrain.
The more we conquer distractions and temptations, the less powerful they become.
If these temptations have no (or limited) power over us, we experience what the Stoics
call freedom.
Within the context of discipline, it’s the freedom to do what we intend to do: freedom
in the sense that outside circumstances do not control our actions.
How can we get things done if we’re not able or willing to work for it?
From the Stoic perspective, work is not only important; it’s also what we’re designed
to do.
Everything in the universe has its place, and as humans, we’re granted unique capabilities
to serve the whole.
Therefore, the Stoics consider industriousness a virtuous characteristic: it’s in our nature
to work, they believe.
In his Meditations, Marcus Aurelius repeatedly reminds himself of his tasks as emperor and
as a human being.
He’s here to work and to serve, not to lay in bed all day doing nothing.
I quote:
“At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: ‘I have to go
to work — as a human being.
What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for — the things I
was brought into the world to do?
Or is this what I was created for?
To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?”
End quote.
Yes, it may feel much nicer in bed.
But the Stoic emperor reminds himself that he was not born to feel “nice.”
He mentions how plants, sparrows, ants, spiders, and bees perform their tasks.
These living beings work to put the world in order and participate in ways that nature
has assigned to them.
“Why aren’t you running to do what your nature demands?”
Marcus Aurelius asks himself.
Of course, we can’t toil day and night; we also need to sleep and relax.
But, as Marcus Aurelius stated: “nature set a limit on that – as it did on eating
and drinking.”
End quote.
So, there’s a time for relaxation and a time for work.
‘Courage’ is a cardinal virtue in Stoicism.
The Stoics subdivide courage into endurance, confidence, high-mindedness, cheerfulness,
and industriousness.
Industriousness is a vital part of being self-disciplined.
It’s the habit of being active and occupied.
If we’re working towards a goal, just self-control isn’t enough; we need to be industrious
and do what needs to be done consistently.
But how can we be industrious?
How can we prevent ourselves from being lazy and procrastinating?
Marcus Aurelius makes an interesting statement about the cause of laziness and one of the
ingredients of being industrious.
I quote:
In earnest, you have no true love for yourself.
If you had, you would love your nature and honor her wishes.
Now, when a man loves his trade, how he will sweat and drudge to perform to perfection.
But you honor your nature less than a turner does the art of turning, a dancing master
the art of dancing.
End quote.
According to this passage, laziness means a lack of love for oneself or one’s natural
tendency.
A lazy person doesn’t love that he’s naturally inclined to be industrious; if he did, he’d
embrace his nature and get to work.
So, extrapolating from this idea, we might want to arouse our love of being industrious;
instead of seeing it as a form of punishment or condemnation, we might want to see it as
something enjoyable.
After all, it has been a natural, inherent part of human life since the dawn of time,
although in different forms and intensities.
We also might want to seek something that fits our individual natures.
Hercules, for example, was fit to protect the weak because of his strong, athletic body.
Other people might be better fit for writing, art, or scientific occupations.
Nature has given each of us unique characteristics.
From a Stoic point of view, our task is to honor and use them productively and to serve
the whole.
As Seneca stated: life is short, and we’re wasting most of it.
How many people wander through life without aim, without any overarching goal they point
their energy towards?
To truly get going, we need a finish line to run towards; we need that star in the sky,
whatever it may be, to climb towards.
The easiest way to live an undisciplined life is not having a specific goal.
If we don’t have goals or sub-goals, we’re quick to put our energy into things that don’t
serve anything long-term, or we do not act at all.
As Marcus Aurelius stated, and I quote:
There is likewise another sort of roving to be avoided; for some people are busy and yet
do nothing; they fatigue and wear themselves out, and yet aim at no goal, nor propose any
general end of action or design.
End quote.
In the modern world, we may wear ourselves out by partying, drinking, playing video games
excessively, or binge-watching television series.
It’s not that we’re not doing anything; we just spend our time and energy on, mainly,
short-term pleasures, and we work simply to keep riding the hamster wheel of small pleasures
and consumerism.
To many people, life seems pointless, and amounting to something bigger, like realizing
their dreams and ambitions, seems impossible.
But, most likely, they’re missing aim, which could be because of fear of failure, but also
because nowadays, there are so many options that it’s difficult to choose one direction.
The paradox of choice confuses many and causes people to want countless things but end up
with nothing substantial.
Therefore, choosing one particular goal and letting everything else slide benefits those
drifting in the wastelands of modernity.
Marcus Aurelius stated, and I quote:
Stop drifting—sprint to the finish.
Write off your hopes, and if your well-being matters to you, be your own savior while you
can.
End quote.
Will we, out of aimlessness, let others make choices for us, even though we can make our
own?
Will we travel aimlessly – or rather “be traveled” – through life like leaves in
the wind?
Or will we exploit our only true power, which is our ability to choose and act?
Being self-disciplined becomes much easier if we have a strong and clear aim.
We generate purpose for ourselves by embracing a solid reason for getting out of bed every
morning.
And the more we work towards that goal, the more steadfast we generally become.
As we keep an eye on the finish line, seeing it getting closer every day, we build self-confidence
as we realize that we can get things done.
Observing progress motivates us to continue.
It prevents us from drifting blindly from one hunch to another.
We’ll get things done, even if we don’t want to, because that star in the sky shines
brightly upon us and rises far above everything that doesn’t matter, leaving it in the shade
where it belongs.
Thank you for watching.