1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Discipline Is Destiny
In Discipline Is Destiny, Ryan Holiday examines the power of discipline through the lens of the ancient Greek philosophy of Stoicism. Holiday argues that your ability to practice discipline—one of the four cardinal virtues of Stoicism—determines how successful you are (aka your destiny). This is because it dictates whether you work consistently and avoid the temptations that prevent you from attaining or maintaining success.
Holiday is one of the most...
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Discipline Is Destiny Summary What Is Discipline?
Holiday asserts that discipline is the ability to restrain your baser urges in pursuit of what’s best for you. When you’re disciplined, you act with moderation, and you prize your ability to have total control over yourself. Like all humans, you face temptations, but you can resist these temptations when you need to—and if you do choose to indulge in them, you do so with restraint.
(Shortform note: In The Power of Discipline, Daniel Walter agrees that discipline is the ability to fight temptations and instant gratification and ultimately act in your best interests. However, his definition of discipline doesn’t include the ability to indulge in temptations with restraint; it also doesn’t include a sense of self-satisfaction that stems from having self-control. Additionally, Walter suggests that we struggle with discipline due to four biological tendencies: resisting change that makes us uncomfortable, overestimating our abilities, procrastinating, and setting unrealistic expectations.) ...
Discipline Is Destiny Summary How to Practice Discipline
Now that you know what discipline is and why it matters, we’ll discuss how to practice it. In this section, we’ll first discuss why identifying your purpose is essential to practicing discipline. Then, we’ll discuss how discipline helps set the stage for tackling your purpose and helps you actually fulfill it. Finally, we’ll discuss how practicing discipline can help you effectively face the hardships you encounter—and maintain any success you achieve.
Identify Your Purpose
Holiday argues that to practice discipline effectively, you must first identify your purpose. Discipline requires that you work consistently toward a purpose and avoid temptations that distract you from that purpose. This is impossible if you don’t know what your purpose is. Holiday describes purpose as work that is inherently enjoyable and not something you do in pursuit of external rewards. Truly loving your work is what will allow you to keep doing it despite the many challenges you may face—because while doing the work is hard, not doing this work is unimaginable.
(Shortform note: Holiday’s definition of purpose has similarities to the Japanese concept of ikigai. In their book...
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Shortform Exercise: Work On Your Purpose
Holiday argues that working on your purpose is essential to the practice of discipline. Think of how you can adjust your life to make working on your purpose easier.
What is your purpose? Recall that Holiday defines purpose as work that’s inherently enjoyable—not something you do in pursuit of external rewards.
