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Self Discipline Quotes

    “Self-discipline is the key to personal greatness. It is the magic quality that opens all doors for you and makes everything else possible. With self-discipline, the average person can rise as far and as fast as his talents and intelligence can take him. But without self-discipline, a person with every blessing of background, education, and opportunity will seldom rise above mediocrity.”

    Brian Tracy, via No Excuses! (Page 7)

    No Excuses [Book]

      Book Overview: Most people think success comes from good luck or enormous talent, but many successful people achieve their accomplishments in a simpler way: through self-discipline. No Excuses! shows you how you can achieve success in all three major areas of your life, including your personal goals, business and money goals, and overall happiness. Each of the 21 chapters in this book shows you how to be more disciplined in one aspect of your life, with end-of-chapter exercises to help you apply the “no excuses” approach to your own life. With these guidelines, you can learn how to be more successful in everything you do –instead of wistfully envying others you think are just “luckier” than you. A little self-discipline goes a long way — so stop making excuses and read this book!

        “For writers and artists, the ability to self-reinforce is more important than talent. What exactly is reinforcement? It’s when your coach or mentor tugs you aside and tells you how well you are doing, how proud of you they are, and how certain they are that ultimate success will be yours if you just stay who you are and keep doing what you’re doing. That’s reinforcement. Can you tell yourself that? Without a coach? Without a mentor? Can you be your own coach and mentor? That’s self-reinforcement. When we say, ‘Put your ass where your heart wants to be,’ we also mean keep it there. Self-reinforcement keeps us there. It keeps us committed over the long-haul.”

        Steven Pressfield, Put Your Ass Where Your Heart Wants To Be (Page 95)

          “The toxicity of self-discipline occurs when it is shame-driven, when you buy into a narrative that you are worthless or a failure for not being disciplined. I try to view both self-discipline and self-care as tools/skills. It’s important to be able to do hard things when necessary. But that doesn’t mean doing hard things is always necessary. Similarly, it’s important to be able to slow down and enjoy yourself when necessary. But that doesn’t mean slowing down and enjoying yourself is always necessary.”

          Mark Manson

            “Senses recklessly transport our minds away from where we want them to be. Don’t tease your own senses. Don’t set yourself up to fail. A monk doesn’t spend time in a strip club. We want to minimize the mind’s reactive tendencies, and the easiest way to do that is for the intellect to proactively steer the senses away from stimuli that could make the mind react in ways that are hard to control. It’s up to the intellect to know when you’re vulnerable and to tighten the reins, just as a charioteer does when going through a field of tasty grass.”

            Jay Shetty, Think Like A Monk (Page 153)

            Make Your Bed [Book]

              Book Overview: If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. On May 17, 2014, Admiral William H. McRaven addressed the graduating class of the University of Texas at Austin on their Commencement day. Taking inspiration from the university’s slogan, “What starts here changes the world,” he shared the ten principles he learned during Navy Seal training that helped him overcome challenges not only in his training and long Naval career, but also throughout his life; and he explained how anyone can use these basic lessons to change themselves—and the world—for the better.

              Post(s) Inspired by this Book:

              12 William McRaven Quotes from Make Your Bed That’ll Change Your World

                “A Stoic is not a scold. Nor are they a tyrant. We are strict with ourselves, tolerant with others. Our discipline is our discipline, as it should be. Our own struggles should keep us busy enough that we shouldn’t even consider getting up in other people’s business to fix theirs. Instead let’s meet others where they are, accept and love them as they are. Because anything else is outside our control.”

                Ryan Holiday, Daily Stoic Blog

                  “In [Daddio’s] world, there was no such thing as a ‘small thing.’ Doing your homework was a mission. Cleaning the bathroom was a mission. Getting groceries from the supermarket was a mission. And scrubbing a floor? It was never just about scrubbing a floor—it was about your ability to follow orders, to exhibit self-discipline, and to complete a task with the utmost perfection. ‘Ninety-nine percent is the same as zero’ was one of his favorite sayings.”

                  Will Smith, Will (Page 9)

                    “You may feel as though you cannot take action, when you most certainly can. You simply do not feel willing, because you are not used to it.”

                    Brianna Wiest, The Mountain Is You (Page 69)

                      “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)

                        “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)

                          “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)