Firstly, here is a very artistic hierarchy of "WHY":

WHY? ➜ Motivation ➜ Discipline ➜ Goals & Vision ➜ Values & Principles ➜ Identity

The hierarchy represents the WHY behind your decision to read this post right now, it explains the reason you procrastinate or the reason you haven't skipped the gym for a year straight.

In essence, think of a certain task, maybe it's working on a side hustle. Then ask yourself why you do it, or why do you not do it. Go through each level and realize where are you stuck. If you are procrastinating you are generally lower level. If you are killing it and working daily on it, then i can guarantee that you know exactly why you are doing it and the side hustle became a part of you (part of your identity).

I can write about this extensively, but i'll explain it briefly and simply. And i'll use the gym as an example, but keep in mind that i used this to work long hours, to build habits, to overcome my fear of approaching women, and my general fear of confrontation. And i also successfully overcame my laziness and procrastination. Originally it was more extensive, but i watered it down to 5 levels.

The short explanation is that you need deeper reasons to do something consistently and successfully, motivation and discipline are watered-down words, and they hold no real power. Real power and drive are hidden much deeper within us. In my experience, it lies at the center of our identity. And identity can be shaped and changed with action.

Understand the concept, then apply it to whatever you see fit in your life.

Level 1 - Motivation

At the first level, you do something because you are motivated to do it. You are excited to go to the gym, you are motivated to crush it today. This is unreliable, because what about those days when it's raining, you haven't slept well and you are still a little sore :(

Level 2 - Discipline

No matter how you feel, you stick to your schedule and go do it. This is David Goggins-type shit. You need to do something and it gets done. However, discipline on its own is weak. Goggins has a reason behind his discipline. If the only reason you're doing something is because you value discipline, you'll enter periods where you fall off. Because discipline by itself is not strong enough, not deep enough. Nevertheless, it's highly practical for short-term application and will make you less of a pussy :)

Level 3 - Goals & Vision

Discipline is weak because you have to have reasons behind your discipline. Why be disciplined in some pursuit? What's the point? What is your why behind it? There are posts on how to set goals and vision already. My advice, and what worked for me, is to make short-term goals. Three months tops. Then break it down into a plan that you can follow. I highly recommend using paper and pen when writing this down, some studies show it works better. You can also keep using an accountability journal where you write down your tasks and goals for the day/week/month. Once you have this laid out, you will find it surprisingly easy to be disciplined.

Level 4 - Principles & Values

  • The principle is a "foundation for a system of belief or behavior".
  • Value is "one's judgment of what is important in life".

Having goals and vision is one thing, but if they are not closely related to your principles and values you're doomed from the beginning. Your goal is to get rich and you can do it by becoming a criminal mastermind, should you do it or should you work on your business to become rich in a proper manner?

It's important to know what your goals require of you, if you are a very religious person and your goal is to sleep with hundreds of women, you might want to reconsider your goal or change your principles and values. It might be a weird example but it illustrates an important point. If you are not happy with your current situation you need to change yourself, your perspective of the world is not working.

You need to lay out your character and become the master of it, instead of letting your character become the master of you. Think of the traits you have that are bad, think of the traits you have that are good, and most importantly find the principles and values that are not aligned with what you want out of life. Then consciously grow into the person you wish to be. Remember this: Your beliefs will affect your behavior, your behavior will affect your actions, and your actions will affect the results you get. It all starts with your thoughts.

I cannot tell you what principles and values to adopt, you need to figure them out on your own. Once you figure it out, you will be able to make split-second decisions, you'll know what you need to do and how. It's a powerful thing when you meet a man who has strong principles and values. However, hiding these can be beneficial in some situations because they can be used against you as a way of manipulation, just a warning.

Notice that the values & principles come after goals. This is because you must achieve things in order to know your true values and principles.

Level 5 - Identity

I will refrain from quoting renowned thinkers debating as to what identity is, and i will just say that identity is your own image of yourself. If you want you can think of it in terms of the red pill dictionary - "frame". If you have a strong identity, your frame will not break. This is exactly what happens with everything else.

A strong identity gives you purpose, it defines who you are. I would refrain from rigiditiy, and remain fluid in defining it. But someone's identity is what pushes the person to win or lose. Going to the gym for a few years has built your identity and now it equals to strong muscular man. This identity is your strength and your weakness at the same time.

For some, it is highly beneficial to think from level 5 towards level 1. Especially if you are a shy person and wish you opened up more. Your identity is being shy, and you are getting in your own way. You need to break it and change it with proof. In this case, the proof is doing something that is the opposite of what you usually do, which means doing things that are social and scary for you specifically.

A person is guided by his identity, which is sometimes a delusional identity. The best example of this is when a chubby girl all of a sudden becomes very hot in a short period. Her identity has not yet been updated. If you train your identity to be delusional, you will either have an "identity crisis" or you will catch up to your delusion until it becomes truth. As you think, so shall you become.

The summary of this is that your identity is the reason behind every action you take. And it's extremely hard to notice your identity holding you back and changing it for the better. Identity is sometimes hidden in a couple of layers, and you need to iterate goals, vision, principles, and values to dig deeper and deeper.

Dark and Light

Each of these levels will have dark and light things within them. Evil and good. I want you to embrace both. Your identity, your goals, and your values will go in both directions, and that's the point. To be a whole person. You can have selfish goals and selfless goals, it's okay.

You need to embrace the shadow part of yourself (which i recommend you read up on). Dark triad traits should be part of your identity, think of it as a toolbox that you carry everywhere. Your aim should be to become a man who is capable of manipulation, violence, and fighting, as well as love, peace, and benevolence. Taking the tool you need when the situation calls for it.

Only movies have clear bad guys and good guys. In real life, you need to encompass both.

Conclusion

Once you read this post, try to sit down and think about this for a few minutes, and try to apply it to your life. It might be abstract thinking, but this theory i laid out is rooted in action. If you don't have goals, start there. If you have goals but struggle with achieving them, think of your identity and values holding you back, and realize that you need to redefine yourself to reach your goals. If one of your values is being a nice guy, good luck having massive success and getting lots of girls. The goal is to be whole, to embrace both dark and light. My fingers hurt from typing.

Hopefully this helps you and gives you clarity as much as it did to me. Good luck.