Discipline Equals Freedom: Field Manual

by Jocko Willink

It comes when you make a decision to be disciplined. When you make a decision to be better.

The only person you can control is you. So focus on making yourself who you want you to be:

People ask me, “How do I get tougher?” BE TOUGHER. “How can I wake up early in the morning?” WAKE UP EARLY. “How can I work out consistently every day?” WORK OUT CONSISTENTLY EVERY DAY. “How can I stop eating sugar?” STOP EATING SUGAR.

You have control over your mind. You just have to assert it.

Some days I win. But some days I don’t. But each and every day: I get back up and I move forward. With my fists clenched. Toward the battle. Toward the struggle. And I fight with everything I’ve got:

I don’t stop. Fight weak emotions with the power of logic; fight the weakness of logic with the power of emotion.

It is never finished. You always have more to do. Another mission. Another task. Another goal.

Be starting. Be alert. Be ready. Be attacking. BE RELENTLESS.

Discipline starts with waking up early. It really does.

Is this what I want to be? This? Is this all I’ve got—is this everything I can give? Is this going to be my life? Do I accept that?

And in many cases, a failure to compromise is a failure to succeed.

But internally—it’s different. With myself, I have to hold the line. There are areas within myself where I CANNOT compromise.

I am going to battle and I am going to fight and I am going to use every tool I have to crush my enemy.

So to me, it is not about nature or nurture: It is about choice.

The people who are successful decide they are going to be successful. They make that choice.

Choose to make yourself smarter and stronger and healthier. Choose to work out and study and eat good food and keep your mind clean.

That is what you really need to be afraid of: Being stagnant.

So. Learn and move on. Don’t let regret beat you down.

When bad things are happening—I will be the one good thing—standing tall—that can be relied upon. I will bolster those around me. And the positive attitude will spread. And we will fight. And in fighting, we will win.

Fight on. To fight against The Darkness is to win. Fight on.