ON PREDESTINATION: THERE IS NO DISCIPLINE

I have had many people tell me that they admire me for my discipline.  They witness my dietary compliance, or how rigorously and regularly I engage in physical training, or that I wake up early to get things done, and through their observation they conclude that I am a highly disciplined individual.  Many times, they even express envy, how they WISH they could be as disciplined as I am, because, if they were, they could really do the things they want to get done.  But that is where I have to ultimately disagree with them.  My experience has dictated that, fundamentally, we always do the things that we want to do.  There is no discipline: our actions are predestined as a result of our inclinations, motivations, and desires. 

And if we did not pursue these desires, there would be no greatness in the world

But isn’t that exactly WHAT discipline is: the ability to overcome your desires to instead do something else?  In point of fact, I argue that the logic on this is reversed.  We must utilize the outcome to determine the motivation, rather than attempt to determine that the outcome is the result of a circumventing entity of discipline.  Put simply, if a thing was done, that thing was done as a result of the desire to do that thing.  If one’s compulsion were to do something other than that thing, then something other than that thing would have been done.

And again the statement is made “but discipline is the OVERCOMING of these desires”, to which again I refute that there IS no discipline.  All we have control over is our desires, but once that is set, the chain of events becomes set in motion.  So what of the individual that wakes up at 0500 to engage in a grueling training session day after day and then eats a bland diet rich in nutrients but lacking in enjoyment?  A true paragon of discipline?  NO!  That individual is as hedonistic as the rest of us: pursuing their own personal joy.  It just so happens that, for that individual, the joy of BEING something great is greater than the joy of experiencing pleasures.  That individual required absolutely zero discipline to engage in their protocol: the path was already set as soon as the decision was made that they preferred the results of training over the experience of non-compliance.

My Hume readers will appreciate the reference, but also be aware that photoshopping exists in all activities

The notion of discipline exists because people operate under the false premise that all individuals share the same desires and share these desires at the same intensities.  “I enjoy pizza, I enjoy it immensely, consuming it gives me great joy, therefore, to not consume it would deprive me of joy, and to choose to not consume it would necessitate great discipline, which must also be true for that guy over there that I observe NOT eating the pizza”.  But in point of fact, it turns out Mr. No-Pizza Eater finds greater joy in dietary compliance than he does in the consumption of pizza, because dietary compliance, in turn, allows him to BE something that he enjoys.  In both instances, the person eating the pizza and the person NOT eating the pizza are exercising the same degree of discipline: that is to say, none.  It requires absolutely zero discipline to engage in an activity that you WANT to do.  Discipline would only be needed to engage in an activity you don’t want to do and, as we are observing, want necessarily dictates activity.  We cannot reasonably argue for the existence of discipline.

So what of those that are definitely vectored toward accomplishing a specific goal but, in a “moment of weakness”, they engage in activities that run counter to that goal?  Surely that’s an indication of one’s discipline failing, no?  Once again, no.  What we observe there is the fluidity of desire.  Desires can change rapidly, especially in the presence of new stimulus.  Doubt this?  Come home from a long, 18 hour day of work, and your desire will be to collapse and not move.  Collapse onto a hot stove and suddenly, despite your initial desire for sloth, you will be prompted to action.  Your desire changed: you went from “I don’t want to move anymore” to “I want to move to any place other than this one RIGHT NOW”.  In both cases, we observe the lack of presence of discipline, and instead it is the goal and desire that changed and drove the change in action.  The same is true if you only maintain dietary compliance in the absence of temptation but, once prompted, cave to eat things you shouldn’t.  You did not experience a moment of weakness: you have always been following your goals and desires.  It is simply the case that your goal changed.

I'm sure the goal was originally "get stronger" and is now "kill trainer"

What is the relevance of all of this rambling?  I have freed you from the shackles of discipline!  Now you are a much different slave: you are a slave to predestination as determined by your desires.  What you want fundamentally dictates what you do.  HOWEVER, what you have the absolute most freedom over is in DECIDING what it is that you want.  Yes, once decided, the actions are set in motion, but you still control the desire, and, with the right desire, you will accomplish amazing things.  If you honestly, really and truly WANT physical greatness, you will always make the decision to accomplish the things that achieve physical greatness versus the things that deny it.  You will always train when you need to train, eat what you need to eat, sleep when you need to sleep, etc.  You need not exercise any discipline whatsoever: just make the decision and let the universe take its course.  And when you make the wrong decisions, don’t beat yourself up over your “lacking discipline”: you simply wanted non-compliance MORE than you wanted compliance.  There is nothing wrong with that: you’re STILL achieving your goals when you do that.  It just so happens that your goals changed.  The more you want your goal, the more it will consistently remain your goal, which means the more you will continue to do the things that will achieve it.  If you are “failing”, just want your goal more.  And if you find you are “trying” to want your goal, I think it’s pretty obvious that it’s not really your goal.