The last two weeks I’ve spoken to you about the benefits of doing the work even when it sucks.

It all boils down to discipline. 

So how do you practice discipline?

By doing things just because they’re not easy. 

Yesterday marked the last day of my seven week fast.

No meat, fish, dairy, eggs, nothing with added oils or sugars, nothing artificial, no alcohol or other kinds of drugs (except the gym)…

I do it every year now.

I’m not religious and it’s not about the health aspect or anything like that for me.

I do it to practice self control.

Temperance.

One of the four great virtues of the ancients!

Now more than ever, we are conditioned to prioritize instant gratification and comfort over discipline and hard work. 

We are encouraged to let our emotions dictate our actions. 

Here’s the thing.

Our emotions are terrible at guiding us.

Think about the example I mentioned a couple of weeks back:

I didn’t feel like making music. I started anyway. 15 minutes later, I felt the opposite. And something great came out of it.

How reliable would you say my emotions were in guiding me towards something I really want?

Yeah, not very.

Happens to me all the time.

In music and art especially, we face barriers and excuses at every corner.

So we must cultivate self-control.

Do something difficult simply because it isn’t easy. 

So we can learn the discipline to face things calmly. 

The better we get at it, the less we care about our petty emotions. 

Ideally you don’t even make it a thing. You simply do what you know is right and that’s that.

Most of us are soft (myself included). There’s ways to go and it’s not always fun.

But we reap what we sow.