16 Fierce Jocko Willink Quotes from Discipline Equals Freedom

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Excerpt: Strengthen your discipline muscle and level up your life by reading these fierce Jocko Willink quotes from Discipline Equals Freedom.

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Introduction: Motivation Follows Action

I feel the least motivated to workout right before it’s time to workout. I’m usually tired, achy, sore, and being relentlessly poked and prodded by my brain about everything else I have to do (and why I should skip). Exercise is never appealing at the onset.

I feel the most motivated about working out right after I finish. I’m pumped up with endorphins, reminded of all the benefits of exercise, and in a much better place to handle the endless list of tasks in front of me. There’s never a workout I regret doing.

Most of the time when I sit to write, I feel uninspired and unmotivated. It’s only on a rare occasion that I’m motivated and have an idea of what I want to say. My norm is to look at the dreaded blank page cluelessly.

Here’s the thing: I write on both occasions; I workout on both occasions—I try to be the person who doesn’t miss. I try to remember that as soon as I hit “publish” I’m going to be back on cloud nine. And that as soon as I finish that last rep of that last set, I’ll be exercises biggest fan once more.

You see, you don’t show up with motivation so that you can take the actions—you show up with the actions so that you can take the motivation. The trick is getting used to showing up without motivation. Once you can get in the habit of doing that, the result is an unwavering dedication that can last a lifetime.

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This sets the tone for Jocko Willink’s book, Discipline Equals Freedom. The fundamental theme that Jocko drives home throughout the book is, just do it. Do what you know needs to get done on the good days and the bad days; on the fast days and the slow days; on the easy days and the hard days. It’s based on the idea that showing up regardless of motivation level is precisely what leads to our strongest version.

And if we want to build our discipline and become that strongest version of ourselves, we should look at discipline as a muscle that we can strengthen like any other muscle in the body. It’s a muscle that strengthens with each successful rep and weakens when we instead choose excuses, comfort, or prolonged rest.

The choice to rep, to show up and build the discipline, is the choice that leads to freedom—in body, in mind, and in spirit. And throughout the book, Jocko makes a strong case in his characteristic fierce tone to show you how. Our collection of quotes from Discipline Equals Freedom below will give you a sense of his style and message. If something resonates, spend some time with it. And if something sticks, I hope you enjoy the fruits of freedom that come with it. ~ Matt

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The List: 16 Fierce Jocko Willink Quotes from Discipline Equals Freedom

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“I don’t accept that I am what I am and that ‘that’ is what I am doomed to be. NO. I do not accept that. I’m fighting. I’m always fighting. I’m struggling and I’m scraping and kicking and clawing at those weaknesses—to change them. To stop them. Some days I win. But some days I don’t. But each and every day: I get back up and I move forward. With my fists clenched. Toward the battle. Toward the struggle. And I fight with everything I’ve got: To overcome those weaknesses and those shortfalls and those flaws as I strive to be just a little bit better today than I was yesterday.”

Jocko Willink, Discipline Equals Freedom (Page 17)

“People ask where discipline comes from. I tell them it comes from within. But there is a level deeper. Discipline comes from The Truth. The Truth is the framework of discipline. And if you lie to yourself, you will not find discipline. If you lie to yourself, you will not be disciplined.”

Jocko Willink, Discipline Equals Freedom (Page 99)

“It isn’t that you wake up one day and decide that’s it: I am going to be weak. No. It is a slow incremental process. It chips away at our will—it chips away at our discipline. We sleep in a little later. We miss a workout, then another. We start to eat what we shouldn’t eat and drink what we shouldn’t drink. And, without realizing it—one day, you wake up and you have become something that you never would have allowed. Instead of strong—you are weak. Instead of disciplined—you are disorganized and lost. Instead of moving forward and progressing—you are moving backward and decaying.”

Jocko Willink, Discipline Equals Freedom (Page 72)

“It wasn’t in a war. It wasn’t in a battle. It isn’t in a melee of fire and destruction that most of us succumb to weakness. We are taken apart, slowly. Convinced to take an easier path. Enticed by comfort. Most of us aren’t defeated in one decisive battle. We are defeated one tiny, seemingly insignificant surrender at a time that chips away at who we should really be.”

Jocko Willink, Discipline Equals Freedom (Page 72)

“Some people use the 80/20 rules, meaning they stick with ‘clean’ eating 80% of the time and then the other 20% of the time they eat whatever they want. The problem is that the 80/20 becomes 60/40, then 40/60, then 20/80 and then all bets are off. Don’t follow the 80/20 rule. Follow the 100% rule—that might turn into the 99% rule and that is okay. But the 80/20 rule isn’t a rule. It’s a step down the slippery slope.”

Jocko Willink, Discipline Equals Freedom (Page 196)

“Everyone wants to know: What should a workout actually consist of? And first of all—let me say this: the most important thing to do is SOMETHING. ANYTHING. Walk. Jog. Calisthenics. Swim. Lift some weights. Hike. Stretch. Do burpees. Play a game of basketball or go get on the jiu-jitsu mat. Some people aren’t sure what to do for a workout—but that is often just an excuse. Exercise doesn’t need to be some complex, multi-level, multi-dimensional, scientifically proven methodology. But it does need to be SOMETHING.”

Jocko Willink, Discipline Equals Freedom (Page 161)

“What is it stopping you? Didn’t get enough sleep? Are you too tired? Do you not have the right gear? Do you not have enough energy? Do you not have enough money? Do you not have enough time? Is it one of these things that is stopping you? Or is the thing that is stopping you, you?”

Jocko Willink, Discipline Equals Freedom (Page 129)

“Hesitation is the enemy. Hesitation allows the moment to pass, the opportunity to be lost, the enemy to get the upper hand. Hesitation turns into cowardice. It stops us from moving forward, from taking initiative, from executing what we know we must. Hesitation defeats us. So we must defeat it. To win, all you have to do is overcome that moment: The Waiting. The Hesitation. And to do that, all you have to do is: Go. Move. Take the action. Get out of bed. Get your feet on the ground. Step forward. Do not hesitate. Do not wait. Go forward: And win.”

Jocko Willink, Discipline Equals Freedom (Page 55)

“If you add up all the hesitation from your life… If you compile all the missed opportunities… All the things you wish you would have done or know you should have done, but didn’t… If you combine all those things together and put them into a big pile, imagine how big that pile would be. Imagine what an accumulation of unrealized potential you would see in front of you. Don’t allow that. Don’t hesitate. Go.”

Jocko Willink, Discipline Equals Freedom (Page 133)

“If I were to speak truthfully when people asked me how I was doing, I would tell them: ‘It doesn’t matter how I’m doing.’ Because that’s the truth. It doesn’t matter if I feel good or bad or excited or bored or happy or sad. It doesn’t matter. I am going to do what I am supposed to do.”

Jocko Willink, Discipline Equals Freedom (Page 105)

“I want you to be horrified—terrified—of sitting on the sidelines and doing nothing. That is what I want you to be afraid of: waking up in six days or six weeks or six year or sixty years and being no closer to your goal… you have made no progress. That is the horror. That is the nightmare. That is what you really need to be afraid of: being stagnant.”

Jocko Willink, Discipline Equals Freedom (Page 41)

“When it just doesn’t make any logical sense to go on, that’s when you use your emotion, your anger, your frustration, your fear, to push further, to push you to say one thing: I don’t stop. When your feelings are screaming that you have had enough, when you think you are going to break emotionally, override that emotion with concrete logic and willpower that says one thing: I don’t stop. Fight weak emotions with the power of logic; fight the weakness of logic with the power of emotion.”

Jocko Willink, Discipline Equals Freedom (Page 23)

“Sure: Life is tough. But it gets a lot easier when you are laughing at it. So. Despite the suffering. In fact: To spite the suffering; to spite the hardships; to spite the challenges—laugh at them all. They can’t stand it when you do. And they all get easier. Yes: Laugh at them all. Laughter wins.”

Jocko Willink, Discipline Equals Freedom (Page 89)

“Where do you find happiness? Is it out there somewhere waiting to be discovered? Under a rock? Out in the woods? Buried in the desert? Where do you find it? You don’t find happiness. You make it. You put forth effort. You work for it. You take on responsibility. You put yourself out there; you take risk to achieve a worthy goal. And in that pursuit, if you pay attention, if you look around, you will find happiness.”

Jocko Willink, Discipline Equals Freedom (Page 131)

“When things are going bad, there’s going to be some good that will come from it. Oh, mission got canceled? Good. We can focus on another one. Didn’t get the new high-speed gear we wanted? Good. We can keep it simple. Didn’t get promoted? Good. More time to get better. Didn’t get funded? Good. We own more of the company. Didn’t get the job you wanted? Good. Go out, gain more experience, and build a better resume. Got injured? Good. Needed a break from training. Got tapped out? Good. It’s better to tap out in training that to tap out on the street. Got beat? Good. We learned. Unexpected problems? Good we have the opportunity to figure out a solution.”

Jocko Willink, Discipline Equals Freedom (Page 59)

“How does ‘good’ apply to the worst of losses: the death of a loved one? It is easy to think that there is nothing ‘good’ in death. But then I remember the people I have lost throughout my life: the memories of them, the experiences, the fun, their unique personalities, and everything they gave me. Not only in their life, but in their death. What their life taught me, and what their death taught me. The mark they have left on me. And I realized, there is good; even in death.”

Jocko Willink, Discipline Equals Freedom (Page 62)

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If you enjoyed these quotes from Discipline Equals Freedom, you should read out Jocko’s book in full. It comes warmly recommended:

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