why self-discipline is actually the ultimate pleasure hack
and how to do a hard reset to rewire your brain
The current era has transformed us into weak and undisciplined men and women.
If you take a few seconds to look through Instagram and TikTok, you will see that we are heading down the hill fast.
A bit too fast in my opinion.
It seems to me that people lose their hold on reality and what it means to be capable.
Any sign of strength and discipline is simply too much to handle and too much of a burden.
Shallowness takes over, and deepness is left behind.
Fast wins are all people care about.
But when you think about it, that's not how you play the game. Or at least the right one.
Others have pointed this out, and I can only agree.
And we are currently at stage 2-3, depending on where you live and your perspective.
The good times, which make it easy for us.
No need to be disciplined or hard-working to sustain an enjoyable lifestyle.
And when you observe our current state you will realize that this is why so many people in their 20s have problems getting their lives together.
We live in abundance.
Everything you crave is just a swipe or same-day delivery away. Amazon, Uber Eats, social media, gaming, and porn will clear out all of your basic needs in seconds. You don't even have to leave the room for it.
From 1900 to 1960, you would have to spend roughly 115 hours a week to fulfill your basic survival needs. Today, it's only 24 hours at most a week.
But despite everything getting easier and less time-consuming, why the f*ck are we still that miserable? Why does it seem like the good old times were actually better?
That question stuck with me for quite a while now, and after spending some more time looking into this, I realized that the lack of need for discipline in our current era is the one thing keeping many locked away from being happy, despite all the pleasure you can get not at a instant.
Discipline Amplifies Pleasure
The pleasure of excess is always fleeting. Which is why self-discipline is not a rejection of pleasure but a way to embrace it. Treating our body well, moderating our desires, working hard, exercising, hustling—this is not a punishment. This is simply the work for which pleasure is the reward.
— Ryan Holiday
Here is what most people get wrong:
They think of discipline as a roadblock that prevents them from being happy.
But when you observe how happy people spend their life, you will see that their days consist mostly of discipline in the form of some kind of hard work. Not giving in to every one of their cravings. Not watching Netflix all day long. Not eating Cheetos and drinking Mountain Dew between burgers and pizza.
But many still get it wrong.
So, to make it absolutely clear: discipline has nothing to do with never allowing yourself to have fun again. It's the complete opposite. Discipline enhances all things pleasurable.
When you work hard in your career or business, work out, and tackle the obstacles in your way, you will be glad to enjoy a nice meal at the end of the day when you come back home. Something you know will fuel you for your next battles. You also want to get enough rest to be ready for the next day .
With that said, you don't want, under any circumstances, let your effort go to waste.
And if you can do it, you will be one of the happiest people on earth, because you know that you are walking the path that your ancestors meant you to walk on.
But this is only how successful and dedicated people think and do things on a daily basis.
They know that they must keep themselves in check or they risk ruin.
The other option, which most people tend to choose, is to do a mediocre job at work, fill their brains with 138 TikToks during their lunch break, get something fatty to eat, plunge it down with a litre of coke, skip the workout they said they would do, get back home, watch Netflix, and order some pizza, and get to bed to late to get a full night of rest.
The problem is that we have become so weak that we see any kind of strength and willpower like option 1 as an attack on ourselves and our lifestyle when, in reality, it's the right thing to strive for.
We mistake the newly won liberty for license. But freedom, as Eisenhower famously said, is actually only the "opportunity for self-discipline."
What this means is the following: Hard physical work all day made the rest of the time more enjoyable in the good old times.
Because today is different from past eras. Physical fitness was mandatory for survival. Workers were built differently. You didn't need to go to the gym because your job was the workout.
Just take a minute and let following numbers sink in.
The average worker burned 3,000 to 4,000 calories a day, walked 2-3 miles daily, and sat for less than 30 minutes at work.
Compare that with today.
I would argue that you most unlikely hit those numbers in your job today. That's why you have to be physically active on your own. You need to choose to go to the gym or go for a run, because the default work doesn't help you anymore with staying in shape.
And because we can't count on the default work to make life hard, we need to do it ourselves.
You might now ask why you should make your life hard when all you want is to be happy and live at ease?
I will make it short for you.
Being happy and living at ease breeds softness and fear.
You become addicted to the comforts and afraid of losing them.
By seeking out discomfort, you toughen yourself up.
But this requires discipline.
How do you start getting disciplined when you already feel under the spell of comfort and distractions?
You do a hard reset.
The Hard Reset
You are in danger of living a life so comfortable and soft, that you will die without ever realizing your true potential
— David Goggins
Despite discipline being a prerequisite for pleasure, being disciplined while being distracted is impossible.
You can ignore distractions for a while, but they will win over you.
They will follow you wherever you go.
That's just how things work now.
You can use all the tips and tricks you want.
The only thing that will help you stay disciplined is having a fail-safe hard reset whenever you spiral, as we discussed earlier.
This helps you interrupt an automatic pattern that prevents you from being disciplined and will create new neural pathways to align your subconscious mind with your conscious goals (doing hard things to make pleasurable things more pleasurable).
For this to happen, you need your subconscious on your team; otherwise, you will lose 100% of the time, because your subconscious mind will outlast you. It's on 24/7, and ready to attack you.
But for a proper hard reset, that helps you become disciplined and truly enjoy life, you need to get your subconscious on your team.
And here is how it's done.
1) Face Your Truth
You first need to take a step back before you can go another step forward.
Do this by writing down 3 things you hate about your current life.
Your job, your fitness, your speaking skills, the rundown place you live in, the toxic friends you have.
Anything that comes to your mind.
Second, make a list of things you always wanted to change but can't, and identify your biggest excuses and limiting beliefs.
This will help you clear the fog that currently holds you back, and pushes you into getting to work.
2) Choose Your Hard Work
The Challenge isn't to do everything at once. This is not sustainable and will lead to burnout. At the end you will have achieved nothing, but only worsend your situation.
Believe me, I've tried it several times because I thought that's what it means to do great work, but I was dead wrong.
Rather, start picking ONE difficult thing you'll do for the next 30 days.
Things like
Running 1 mile
Wake up at 5 am
Read for 30 minutes
No phone for the first 2 hours
Write down what you chose and tell someone about this challenge that will call you out if you quit.
The goal is to make it so easy that it feels stupid not to do it, which is doubly painful when your accountability partner finds out that you quit or missed days.
Btw, if you miss a day, do double the next day. If you miss two days in a row, restart the habit immediately with an even smaller commitment.
3) Start Before You're Ready
Don't wait for the perfect moment to start this challenge; start tomorrow morning.
No matter how many excuses your brain gives you.
Even if there are 1000 excuses.
Start tomorrow morning.
This is where the reset happens. It's your old self screaming and scratching, not wanting to change. Staying safe and small. Not wanting to face the truth that the time has come to man up and get to work.
Think about what David Goggins found out.
What your brain is telling you is your maximum, and that everything you are trying to accomplish now is going over the threshold, is wrong. Your brain is lying to you. You are currently at 40% of your capabilities. You have more than enough room to improve.
But you told yourself so many times that this is the limit, because it really feels like it, that you accepted it as a dead end, and not the transition into the other 60%.
4) Track Your Wins (Daily)
All your effort goes to waste if you don't stay consistent.
For this, keep a simple log. Just a piece of paper or a printed out calender where you can check of the days is more then enough.
No need for fancy notion setups or trackers.
Make it as easy to document your progress and write a note or take a picture at the end of the day on how you felt during the day.
This will help you stay disciplined even on brutal days.
5) Level Up
When it gets easier, make it harder.
Add time, intensity, or a second challenge.
You are now at the point where your subconscious starts to believe you are someone who does hard things.
Simple as that.
The more hard things you do, and the harder the things get, the more pleasure you will feel.
It's just that simple, but most people never reach that point because they lack a deeper meaning and a reason to do a hard reset.
So if you also struggle with finding meaning or lacking clarity you can go through the 7-Day Clarity & Calling Sprint that helps you with this.
That's all for this letter.
I hope it helps.
— Chris