Jocko Willink: DISCIPLINE EQUALS FREEDOM (Jocko Willink Motivation)
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motivation is it’s kind of a strange
word because it doesn’t really mean what
we think it means we think it means that
we’re fired up to do something
we think that it means we’re eager and
passionate to make something happen and
we think that somehow we should just be
able to turn on that eagerness and turn
on that passion but we can’t you just
can’t turn on passion you can’t just
turn on the desire to execute a task
just doesn’t work that way and honestly
that isn’t even what motivate means
motivate doesn’t mean to yell and scream
and encourage no to motivate actually
means to provide a motive a reason why
so to motivate someone is to explain to
them why they’re doing what they’re
doing how it will help them where it’ll
take them why they should continue to
work and to struggle and to fight and
when you need motivation yourself go
look for someone to scream and yell
don’t look for someone else to give you
motivation look at yourself look at
yourself and remind yourself why why you
are doing what you are doing remind
yourself that this struggle this
temporary pain this fight this fight
that you’re in this is what will make
you stronger and faster and smarter and
better
in there with that motivation go forward
into the fray into the storm into the
heat of the battle where victory has
forged rome wasn’t built in a day we all
know that everyone’s hears that but rome
also didn’t fall apart overnight either
it took hundreds of years for Rome to
reach its peak but it also took time
hundreds of years for Rome to decay and
fall apart and that is representative of
life because you don’t achieve
worthwhile goals quickly or easily they
take time they take struggle they take
relentless pursuit day in and day out
that’s what it takes but also things
don’t usually fall apart
quickly either at least at first it’s
it’s a slow process a little slip here a
little setback over there a little
wearing down of discipline and will over
time
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that’s the thing success and failure are
generally slow processes either slowly
building things up or gradually tearing
them down
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and that’s why I say you’ve got to pay
attention you have to watch you have to
watch every single second
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because those seconds they turn into
minutes and minutes turn into hours and
hours turn into days and days turn in to
years and so that second that second
that just went by that counted and so
did that second and so did that one
and in those precious seconds you’re
either building or you’re decaying
you’re either gaining ground or you were
losing ground in that second
and in every second
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every second counts
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so
make every second how do you stop making
excuses this is actually pretty simple
and I said it the other day and you have
to realize you have to know you have to
accept that all your excuses are lies
they are lies all of them think about
the things that you tell yourself the
lies you used to rationalize taking the
easy road taking the easy road and
leaving discipline behind think about
them you don’t have time that’s a lie
you don’t have support that’s a lie you
don’t have the equipment or the gear
lies you don’t you don’t know the best
way who cares that’s a lie or you’re too
old or you’re too young of course you’re
too old or too young lie and there’s
you’re too busy sure you are that’s high
and you’re too tired or you’re too sore
or you’re just plain not feeling it lies
lies lies and the list goes on and on
and on then it doesn’t stop if you don’t
make it stop so recognize recognize the
excuses are not valid they are they’re
trumped up
they’re conjured up they’re fabricated
their lies and how do you stop the lies
you stop the lies with the truth the
truth the truth will set you free the
truth will stand and the truth will
deliver you from procrastination and
laziness and the downward spiral that
comes with a lack of discipline so don’t
believe the lies believe the truth and
the truth is you have time you have the
skill you have the knowledge and the
support and the willpower and the
discipline to get it done
so cast out belies burn them down
and listen to the truth and live the
truth and go out and get it done
self-help or self management or
self-improvement I don’t really like
what those words have come to mean these
days because there’s a lot of people out
there that are constantly trying to
improve themselves by looking for the
one change the one change right the one
change in their life that’s gonna make
their dreams come true and even worse on
top of that there’s a lot of people out
there a lot of self-help gurus and these
hyperactive motivational speakers and
these other self-appointed moderns and
Yoga warriors that they’re trying to
sell the one thing they’re trying to
sell the nine steps or the enlightened
path that’s going to allow you to unlock
all of your human potential and fulfill
the dreams so you can live the life that
you’ve you’ve always wanted to if
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no I’m no guru and I definitely don’t
claim to be I’m just a man but I will
tell you this it isn’t one thing and it
isn’t ten things and it isn’t a hundred
things it isn’t
a quick path and there are no shortcuts
the meditation won’t get you there and
neither will a miracle drug or an
organic supplement or some superfood
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getting better isn’t a hack or a trick
or one change that you need to make
getting better is a campaign it’s a
campaign it’s a daily a weekly it’s an
hourly fight an incessant fight that
doesn’t stop against weakness and
against temptation and against laziness
it’s a campaign of discipline the
campaign of hard work and dedication
it’s waking up early and going to bed
late and grinding out every second in
between every single day so you want to
get better you want to self-improve stop
looking for a shortcut and go find your
alarm clock and find your discipline and
fling your guts and your passion and
your drive and find it you will
and then and then you will find your
freedom those days when I’m tired or
worn out or just basically sick of the
grind well what do I do
on those days I go anyways I get it done
even if I’m just going through the
motions I go through the motions I don’t
really want to work out I work out I
really don’t want a hammer on a project
I hammer on the project don’t really
want to get up and get out of bed yeah I
get up and get out of bed now these
could be signals that you need some time
off and those signals might be right
they could be correct but don’t take
today off not today
wait until tomorrow
nope don’t give in to the immediate
gratification that is whispering in your
ear shut that down do not listen to that
little voice instead go through the
motions lift the weights sprint the hill
work on the project get out of bed now
as an overall rule I do not like
procrastination you need to get things
done but if you are going to rest that
is one thing that you should
procrastinate on that’s the one thing I
want you to pull it off until tomorrow
and if when tomorrow comes you still
feel like you need to rest or you need
to take a break then okay thank you
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but the chances are you won’t you won’t
meet that rest chances are you will
realize that the desire to rest was just
weakness it was just the desire to take
the path of least resistance that
downhill path the easy path and by
simply going through the motions you
overcame that path and you stayed on the
righteous path
the disciplined path you’re stayed on
the warpath which is right where you
know
but you poor I keep getting asked this
type of question how do I get
disciplined or how do I want discipline
or how do I maintain discipline and the
answer it’s it’s a simple answer but
obviously it’s not easy and there’s all
kinds of little tricks and methods that
people talk about and you know they have
some merit
you know maybe they do work these these
things you know do the little things
people say and man wake up early I say
that and write things down and take cold
showers and tell everyone what you’re
going to do so broadcast it and make
promises or or make bets with with your
friends of something that you don’t want
to lose and those things those ideas
they’re cool I’m sure they’re gonna have
some impact and if they work for you
that’s that’s awesome
but but the fact of the matter is that
the reason discipline is hard to
maintain is because it is hard to
maintain that’s what makes discipline
hard it’s hard and if you hear me claim
that discipline is easy for me then
straight up
that’s just my ego talking that’s what
that is because I’m unfortunately just
as human as everyone else and it is work
to maintain the discipline that’s what
it is work holding the line maintaining
the standard giving no slack none that’s
the discipline
that’s the discipline and it is hard and
if there’s one thing I would say that
does make it easier it’s to envision
what it feels like when you’re done what
it feels like after you’ve worked out or
you’ve held the line on your food intake
or you’ve pushed through some monotonous
project that you have to do in all those
things when they’re done that they feel
good and contrary to that envision what
you will feel like later when you let
the discipline slack you know the
feeling
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feeling weak and if it did and you know
that you’re falling behind so get to
know those two different types of
feelings and ask yourself which one you
want to feel in ten minutes or in a half
an hour when when the thing is done when
the discipline has Blin implemented
remember what that feels like and then
remember that those minutes and those
hours they turn into weeks and months
and years and holding the line in those
critical minutes will put you in an
infinitely better place physically and
mentally if you maintain the discipline
if things go wrong they always seem to
happen at once and they just compound on
top of each other and it’s it’s pretty
easy sometimes to to feel beaten when
you’re faced with all those issues and
all those problems and they all hit you
at the same time but let me tell you
that that doesn’t mean give up
in fact it means the opposite it means
it’s time for you to fight harder to dig
in means it’s time for you to go on the
warpath
