The Power of Discipline Quotes

“First, they encourage us to accept that it’s the norm to work hard without having an assurance of what’s going to yield the highest results and what won’t.”
― Daniel Walter, The Power of Discipline: How to Use Self Control and Mental Toughness to Achieve Your Goals

“He came to this conclusion by observing that twenty percent of the pea plants in his garden produced eighty percent of the best pea pods. This observation was later termed “The law of the vital few” or the 80/20 rule.”
― Daniel Walter, The Power of Discipline: How to Use Self Control and Mental Toughness to Achieve Your Goals

“even though there was probably some truth in a lot of science fiction work being a low-quality genre, it’s possible to say the same thing about everything else. His statement became known as Sturgeon’s Law.”
― Daniel Walter, The Power of Discipline: How to Use Self Control and Mental Toughness to Achieve Your Goals

“The Pareto Principle and Sturgeon’s Law.”
― Daniel Walter, The Power of Discipline: How to Use Self Control and Mental Toughness to Achieve Your Goals

“Buddhists believe that we should live in the present moment, and the past is nothing but a set of interpretations and memories. We have not yet entered the future, and so worrying and obsessing that things should turn out a certain way will only lead to unnecessary suffering.”
― Daniel Walter, The Power of Discipline: How to Use Self Control and Mental Toughness to Achieve Your Goals

“Another form of logical procrastination is spending too long on the planning stage when it comes to how you are going to achieve your goals. It is important to plan; however, there is no need to overanalyze things. The more time you spend planning means less time spent doing, which increases your chances of never getting started in the first place. The key is to start working on your project and figure out the details as you go.”
― Daniel Walter, The Power of Discipline: How to Use Self Control and Mental Toughness to Achieve Your Goals

“The Sunk Cost Fallacy In psychology, one of the most well-known self-defeating behaviors is the “sunk cost fallacy.” It explains why people remain stuck in their circumstances even though they would rather be elsewhere. Some examples are staying in an unfulfilling relationship or keeping a safe but boring job even though you have the opportunity to get better employment. The status quo bias describes the human disposition to cling to what we are familiar with instead of reaching for the unknown. Similar to the Pareto Principle (discussed in chapter 17), the concept has its roots in economics and was founded by economists Richard Zeckhauser and William Samuelson. In 1988, they published a series of studies in the Journal of Risk and Uncertainty. The articles highlighted the fact that even though economics attempts to predict the choice a person will take when faced with more than one alternative, in the real world, most people choose to do nothing and carry on as normal.  A more general term for this tendency is ‘inertia.’ Loss Aversion Theory Why is it that we choose to stick with the same jobs, people, and ambitions? A number of reasons have been put forward to explain this behavior. One reason is based on the “loss aversion theory,” which stipulates that in general, people don’t like losing things, and this is true even if the thing they lose wasn’t of high value. Before moving onto something that is perceived as better, we want evidence to prove that it is going to enhance our lives before detaching ourselves from what is not serving us. Although making a change often leads to a more positive outcome, on a subconscious level, we assume that change will do us more harm than good. Even positive change, such as moving to a nicer home or getting married, requires a lot of thought. There is always a cost associated with change, and most of the time, we don’t want to pay the price.”
― Daniel Walter, The Power of Discipline: How to Use Self Control and Mental Toughness to Achieve Your Goals

“Self-discipline is like a key—it unlocks the door to personal fulfillment and opens the door to the life you have been dreaming of. With self-discipline, the average person can rise further than intelligence and talent alone will take them, and the ordinary person can become extraordinary. On the other hand, an educated, talented person without self-discipline will rarely rise above mediocrity.”
― Daniel Walter, The Power of Discipline: How to Use Self Control and Mental Toughness to Achieve Your Goals

“It’s the norm for us to identify with our urges, but urge surfing helps us separate ourselves from the bad habits we desire to correct. Instead of thinking, “I feel like eating cake,” say, “I have an urge to eat a piece of cake.” In this way, you are not fighting yourself but the sensation you are experiencing, you can then allow it to pass. It’s difficult to fight urges, but observing them without identifying with them increases your chances of overcoming them.”
― Daniel Walter, The Power of Discipline: How to Use Self Control and Mental Toughness to Achieve Your Goals

“When we are in high-stress situations, large doses of cortisol and adrenaline are released, which activates the ‘fight, flight or freeze’ response. The average person is unable to control this process, but the Navy SEALs are capable of doing so because they have been trained to, and depending on the situation, their responses to stressful situations could mean the difference between life and death. They use several techniques to do this, including box breathing. When a SEAL starts feeling stressed or overwhelmed, they focus on their breath to regain control. They take a series of breaths for four seconds at a time—they breathe in, hold their breath, and then breathe out. This process is repeated until the heart rate returns to normal”
― Daniel Walter, The Power of Discipline: How to Use Self Control and Mental Toughness to Achieve Your Goals

“you”
― Daniel Walter, The Power of Discipline: How to Use Self Control and Mental Toughness to Achieve Your Goals

“Discipline is about doing what you know you’ve got to do even when you don’t feel like it. But for your efforts to make a difference, you must be consistent. Slacking off every other day isn’t going to get you to your destination any more quickly.”
― Daniel Walter, The Power of Discipline: How to Use Self Control and Mental Toughness to Achieve Your Goals

“When you make healthy choices, self-discipline is strengthened; on the other hand, making unhealthy choices diminishes self-discipline.”
― Daniel Walter, The Power of Discipline: How to Use Self Control and Mental Toughness to Achieve Your Goals

“From this day forward, you are not going to TRY, you are going to DO! You must be decisive and have courage in everything you say and do.”
― Daniel Walter, The Power of Discipline: How to Use Self Control and Mental Toughness to Achieve Your Goals

“The reality is that there are going to be times when you won’t get another chance to make it right. You’ve got to capture that moment because you will never get it back.”
― Daniel Walter, The Power of Discipline: How to Use Self Control and Mental Toughness to Achieve Your Goals

“Satori” is a Japanese term similar to Zen, meaning “flash of inspiration” or “first showing.”
― Daniel Walter, The Power of Discipline: How to Use Self Control and Mental Toughness to Achieve Your Goals