I Made Discipline Easy for You

There’s an essay by the French writer Albert Camus called “The Myth of Sisyphus” that I read at least once a year, because I think it’s the most important thing ever written on mindset.

Sisyphus is a figure from ancient Greek mythology. He was a king of Corinth. He was infamous for being a piece of shit, tricking people and twice cheating Hades, the god of death.

Basically he was a spoiled royal who didn’t abide by anyone’s rules but his own. Something we don’t have any parallels for in 2020. Oh, wait.

Eventually Zeus, the king of all the Greek gods, caught up to Sisyphus and damned him to eternal punishment. Forever he would be at the foot of a mountain with a huge boulder in front of him. Every single day he had to roll the boulder to the peak of the mountain. Whenever he reached the top of the mountain the boulder would roll right back down to the beginning, exactly where it started.

Most of you are probably familiar with this story, it’s a pretty common image in popular culture- the man rolling a giant boulder up a mountain.

The genius of Camus' essay is that he related Sisyphus’ boulder to the suffering we all must endure simply to live.

It can seem overwhelming, it’s always heavy, and we never really get a break.

If you want to accomplish anything, even something as “simple” as living a healthier life you have to voluntarily push your boulder up the mountain of life.

You have to roll that thing uphill every day. It’s non negotiable.

The most striking part of this essay is that Camus argued that we have to picture Sisyphus as happy.

The beauty of Sisyphus' story isn’t that he strove and reached the top of the mountain. He never did, and he never will. The beauty is that he began to push the boulder every day, knowing that he would never reach the top. The goal isn't the top of the mountain, the goal is simply being able to push the boulder.

The joy is in the journey, the humanity is in the suffering. The road is the goal.

The essay concludes with this timeless quote:

“I leave Sisyphus at the foot of the mountain. One always finds one's burden again. But Sisyphus teaches the higher fidelity that negates the gods and raises rocks. He too concludes that all is well. This universe henceforth without a master seems to him neither sterile nor futile. Each atom of that stone, each mineral flake of that night-filled mountain, in itself, forms a world. The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”

So why do I talk about this obscure, French existential essay so often? Because we all need to start to find joy in responsibility. This is where discipline comes in.

At first your self chosen burdens (which we need to keep in mind are only there to help you improve) are going to suck to do. You’re going to hate them. You’re going to hate eating a salad for lunch every day if you’re used to having a burger. You’re going to hate waking up at 6 AM when you’re used to waking up at 9.

This is simply the nature of change. Change, especially physical change, is the process of adaptation. To start the process of adaptation you need to introduce a new stimulus. This new stimulus is rarely comfortable. It comes in the form of a new habit.

When something is hard and something sucks it’s human nature to avoid it. However if you want to change you CAN’T avoid it. This is exactly where discipline comes in.

Discipline is the art of investing your time in things that will not reap immediate rewards.

Discipline is seeing your boulder every day and putting your hands on it, digging your feet into the ground and pushing. Even when it’s hard. Even when you can only take one step at a time. Even when the boulder doesn’t move.

It’s a simple framework that allows you to get done what you need to get done. It’s not intimidating, but it is rewarding.

Here’s How To Make It Easy

The only thing you’re missing is the framework to bring your best out.  You’re just missing someone who has pushed the boulder up the hill to show you how to do it too. 

The checklist is the first step to discipline.  I’ve compiled a check list of 10 things to do daily, and 3 things not to do.

These are all habits. The list is 13 habits. 

All it takes to form a habit for life is 90 days of intentional work towards instilling that habit in your head.  The first 30 days they will all kind of suck, they’ll all feel hard.  That’s a good thing.  That’s you getting used to your boulder. 

The checklist might seem simplistic and even childish.  That’s a good thing.  If a habit is complicated and requires a ton of energy you’re not going to stick with it when life gets tough. 

If you’re serious about changing your life or your body this checklist is the first step.

Each of these 13 habits represents a boulder for you.  You might never push that boulder to the peak of the mountain, but that doesn’t matter What matters is that you try every day.

How To Use This Checklist

All you have to do is try to check every box every day. I’ll warn you- you won’t be perfect. The only thing you want to focus on is being better than yesterday, and not pressuring yourself to be 100% all the time.

Some of these items are best done first thing in the morning. Others require you to be aware throughout the day.
In reality none of these habits are groundbreaking on their own, but when combined they will help you create a powerful, personal routine that will bring out the best in you.