“There is a part of us that celebrates, perhaps envies, those who let themselves get away with more, who hold themselves to lower standards—the rock stars, the famous, the wicked. It seems easier. It seems like more fun. It might even be the way to get ahead. Is that right? No, it is an illusion. Under closer inspection: No one has a harder time than the lazy. No one experiences more pain than the glutton. No success is shorter lived than the reckless and endlessly ambitious. Failing to realize your full potential is a terrible punishment. Greed moves the goalposts, preventing one from ever enjoying what one has. Even if the outside world celebrates them, on the inside there is only misery, self-loathing, and dependence.”
Ryan Holiday, Discipline Is Destiny (Page xxiii)
“The potter’s wheel, once set in motion, keeps spinning and spinning, and only gradually slackens and comes to a halt; and likewise, in Siddhartha’s soul, the wheel of asceticism, the wheel of thinking, the wheel of discrimination had kept turning and turning, was still turning, but was now sluggish and hesitant and on the verge of halting. Slowly, the way moisture creeps into the dying tree stump, slowly filling it and rotting it, worldliness and slothfulness had crept into Siddhartha’s soul; slowly they filled his soul, made it heavy, made it weary, lulled it to sleep.”
Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha (Page 68)
“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)
Keshavan Nair Quote on Being Lazy and How Productivity is a War, Not a Battle
“When I say I lack the time to exercise, is this really true given that I have time to watch television? Perhaps it is just difficult for me to admit that I may be lazy.”
Keshavan Nair, A Higher Standard of Leadership
Beyond the Quote (265/365)
I am lazy. I am definitely not born with a “do more than I have to” nature. I desire the “comfortable” option. All of the time. I don’t want to wake up early. I don’t want to write every day. I don’t want to exercise. And I definitely don’t want to only ever eat healthy food. The easy way out is always at the forefront of my mind. The mind-numbing activities are always calling my name. And the option to do less is always looking mighty nice. Yet, day-in and day-out, I choose otherwise.
Read More »Keshavan Nair Quote on Being Lazy and How Productivity is a War, Not a BattlePenor Rinpoche Quote on Dealing With Life Now Rather Than Waiting (and Worrying) About It Later
“Life is more difficult if you worry. It’s better to deal with things as they come up.”
Penor Rinpoche, via Turning the Mind Into An Ally (Page 101)
Beyond the Quote (134/365)
I have noticed in myself over the past few days an increased tendency to use my phone. This tendency, I suppose, could be for many reasons. It could be because of the addictive nature of phones, the increased desire for connection during a time of isolation, it could be a coping strategy to deal with the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, a lackadaisical response to the slower lifestyle (in my case at least), or a combination of all of the above. While it is important to be a little more lenient on yourself during a time of global crisis, what I have also noticed, from careful introspection, is that I have felt my anxiety levels go up in proportion to the increased phone use.
Read More »Penor Rinpoche Quote on Dealing With Life Now Rather Than Waiting (and Worrying) About It Later“Self-discipline is a form of freedom. Freedom from laziness and lethargy, freedom from the expectations and demands of others, freedom from weakness and fear and doubt. Self-discipline allows a pitcher to feel his individuality, his inner strength, his talent. He is the master of, rather than a slave to, his thoughts and emotions.” ~ Harvey Dorfman
“Being busy is a form of laziness – lazy thinking and indiscriminate action.” ~ Timothy Ferriss, The 4-Hour Workweek
