Why Discipline is freedom.

(A Thread)

Inspiration: @jockowillink

One of the most common reasons why people resist discipline

is that they think it will make their life predictable.

And predictable is boring.

I wanna live on the edge!!!

I want to be able to what I want when I want.

If I start having a routine, every day will look the same.

Life will lose its magic.

I hate making plans,

I like being spontaneous!

WRONG WRONG WRONG

I’ll tell you why.

You know, I used to be one of those people.

Who believed that anything predictable robs me of my power.

Makes me feel like I’m in a cage.

I would do things IF I wanted to do them.

But if you told me,

Hey! You HAVE to do this.

I would run in the opposite direction.

I hated being told what to do, even if it was just by a piece of paper I had written myself.

I used to love waking up to the feeling that nothing is certain,

that everything is possible.

It was my small way of rebelling against boredom, against predictability.

But you see, that didn’t work out so well for me.

I see now, that I relied on motivation to get me through, every single day.

Sure, some days I smashed it out of the park.

But other days,

I just lazed around watching Netflix and eating like there’s no tomorrow.

But hey, at least I was free, right?

It was then I started reading a few books on self-development

because I had started to feel like I was doing something wrong.

I felt like I was just like everyone else.

And man, I DID NOT WANT TO BE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE.

That was just another cage for me.

Started reading a few books here and there,

and I realized that a LOT, no wait, every single one of them

recommended PLANNING.

Recommended having a routine. Yuck.

But the more I read,

the more I became convinced.

I mean, you have to start listening to people who know their shit.

Seriously.

A few books later, I was sold on the idea.

That was a year ago.

This is what my mindset looks like now-

The thing is, discipline does not restrict freedom.

It creates freedom.

If you’re going to leave every day to just,

be what it is, do what time allows, do what you feel like,

days will drift by and you will achieve nothing substantial.

If you’re bogged down with making daily decisions

on what time you should eat, workout, study, etc.

you will have less time for freedom.

Less time for the really fun stuff.

If you want financial freedom,

you need financial discipline.

If you want to be free from your cravings,

you need to have an eating discipline.

I used to think that discipline limits by power.

But, in reality, it puts me in control.

I am no longer a slave to my monkey brain.

If you plan and prepare for your day,

if you have a fixed routine,

you can focus on what’s really important!

You know, real freedom.

You create the mental peace needed for creativity and forward-thinking.

Now all my days look the same. And you know what? I love it.

I cannot go to sleep without planning the next day.

Though I’m still far off from being a super disciplined person,

I sure have come a long way.

But this shift in thinking was fundamental. It changed everything.

And my only regret is that I didn't start sooner.

Recommended reading:

Extreme ownership @jockowillink

Atomic habits @JamesClear

Life-changing books.