In my last post, Become Dangerous, u/kiwifx commented asking about discipline in a military prospective. This is my response to you.

Surprisingly, I am very quiet when it comes to talking to people about the military. I don't like talking about it in real life because of social anxiety. I may have made a name for myself, but this is something I truly did because I wanted to. I went from being the little weird kid to becoming something else. I haven't completed my metamorphosis yet, and I can only imagine what the future holds.

Discipline is a very important aspect of the military. Quite frankly, I can't imagine another thing in the world that would take the same amount of effort. However, this is not a good life example. Most people will never attempt such challenges in a regular life time. I don't mean to neg or sound edgy: but serving in the military is an experience like non-other. I would never compare a normal life to mine; they are two completely different beasts.

The Basics

The problem with discipline is that people have the wrong idea about it. It's not about doing hard things, or working out to get ripped, or approaching girls to get better game. Discipline is doing things you willingly don't want to do. That is the basics of it. Can you go to the gym and lift weights? Of course you can! But do you want to? Meh. Can I go out and say hi to that cute blonde. Fuck yeah, I could. But do I want to? No, I'm too nervous. As you begin doing, your tolerance of things "willingly not do" will go up. I hated squatting when I started working out. Now, I love squats. But I don't like cardio, etc.

Ask yourself, are you really comfortable doing any of this?

Do you really enjoy having to work long hours to save up money, or working out when you're just so done with life? Do you really think I enjoy doing these crazy Army things, like being sleep deprived for days at a time, not showering for more than a week, and eating food out of a bag? But, why did you do it? Did you do it for pussy, to get a big pick up truck, or for some reason deep down inside of you?

Quitting

There can be many reasons why people just chose to quit. Some people just straight up don't want to do anything. It's too much effort, they hamster away excuses, etc. There's no reason for me to try and convince these people to persevere. You can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped.

But, there is another reason why people quit. And these are people who are actually putting in the effort, who are actually fighting and trying to do something. They quit because they let their mind get control of them. They look at other people and think, "Man, they make it look so easy. Maybe I'm not cut out for this. This is how I felt during the entirety of my military training. I wasn't the fittest, and I was a bit shorter than most of the colleagues (5 ft 7). This made a terrible combination for ruck marches, where we were humping 40+ lbs of gear. I looked around me, and no one else was heaving air as much as I was. I was starting to slow down, eventually people started passing me because they couldn't work as a fucking team and let the slowest people lead (proper practice for ruck marching. I'm still salty about it). And I thought to myself, "Fuck, these people are doing it so easily... maybe I'm not cut out for the Army after all." It wasn't until later on that I finally realized that no one had it easy. Everyone else cried, wheeped, puked and sweat just like I did.

I wasn't the problem - the challenge was. And since then, my outlook on life changed. I stopped myself as a problem, and realized that challenges were challenges for everyone, not just me. It sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? People quit just because they feel like they can't achieve. The human mind is the most powerful tool, yet the greatest burden we will ever have. You are fighting against yourself, and you very well know you are. Once you realize this, you won't ever be satisfied again. I always want to lift more, run more, talk more. It is a very dangerous thing to have full control of yourself, which is the very reason why I wrote the previous post.

You need to master the basics in order to cultivate strong discipline

To answer your question u/kiwifx, the best way to building discipline is to master the basics. You need to understand that you are going to do something you willingly do not want do. It is literally your mind against itself. You need to have that sort of power in yourself to say "fuck you" and do what you consciously want to do. It won't necessarily feel good, but nothing in regards to discipline "just happens" or is a subconscious decision. Where you get that power is up to you to discover.

I hope everyone who read this can take something away from it. It really is a joy to share knowledge with like minded people.