Is it really necessary?
It seems like there is a division in society today between those that support the benefits of routines and having daily discipline and those that say that you should not live a life of structure.
To me it seems funny that there is even a suggestion that some type of discipline and structure would not be promoted more when all you need to do is look at the most successful people in the world.
They all seem to have one thing in common, a relentless work ethic and daily practices or disciplines. For example, the author Tim Ferris’s 2 recent books, Tools of the Titans and Tribe of Mentors, consists of interviews of the most successful people in any field you can think of and they all have daily practices and disciplines.
Now they may be completely different and have nothing to do with one another but the top performers in their respective fields all have that commonality.
So why are their people today, whether it be academics or politicians or other institutions promoting the exact opposite? I have no idea but it doesn’t seem to have society’s best interest in mind. I am open to their arguments but I yet to see the successful person sitting around smoking pot all day. I have nothing against pot I just don’t know too many super successful stoners. And if you point to some successful artist that was a heavy drug user they either die from it or get sober. And they would be the exception.
Let’s look at health as it’s easy. When you see someone who is at their ideal weight, has lots of energy and looks younger than their actual age do think they got that way by not taking care of themselves? Do you think they got lucky? Maybe. They may be a genetic freak and have been able to get away with it but that is not the norm. It is safe to say they have a positive routine around health.
When you see someone that is the exact opposite what do you think? Bad genetics? Maybe but you and I both know it is more related to the choices of that individual’s lifestyle.
If you look at people who climbed the ladder in the corporate world or build a successful business, do you think they are more or less disciplined than the person who does neither of those? The answer is obvious and just look at the number of people that get promotions or run successful businesses vs. those that don’t? The number is very small in the big picture.
To me it’s safe to say that having discipline in your life will ultimately lead to something positive in whatever it is you are pursuing.
If you want to be good at something you have to commit to doing it well, be consistent and that takes discipline. I don’t think I would get much of an argument. I also think that if you create daily disciplines for life in general, they will go a long way and make it that much easier for you to be consistent when going after whatever goal you want to achieve.
Take a look at your life where you may be wasting time or lack structure. How many hours per week are you watching TV? Scrolling through your IPhone?
I will say this, it is very easy to talk about discipline than to actually put it into practice. I am NOT perfect at this by any means but I do make it part of my life. If you would consider yourself undisciplined in life or more of the person that wings their day it will be a challenge. Start slow, implement something small. I heard the suggestion from a Navy Seal commander that making your bed every day is one of the simplest disciplines you can do. Maybe start there but I know that after you continue on you develop momentum and it gets easier.\
