Discipline Is Destiny: The Power of Self-Control (The Stoic Virtues Series)

“When a man can control his life, his physical needs, his lower self,” Muhammad Ali would later say, “he elevates himself.”

Temperance is not deprivation but command of oneself physically, mentally, spiritually—demanding the best of oneself, even when no one is looking, even when allowed less. It takes courage to live this way—not just because it’s hard, but because it sets you apart.

Freedom, as Eisenhower famously said, is actually only the “opportunity for self-discipline.”

And yet here he was at one of the two exceptions that Churchill would lay out—“never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense”—now,

freedom is the opportunity for self-discipline.

We must master ourselves unless we’d prefer to be mastered by someone or something else.

In the ancient world, virtue was comprised of four key components. Courage. Temperance. Justice. Wisdom.

By being a little hard on ourselves, it makes it harder for others to be hard on us. By being strict with ourselves, we take away others’ power over us.

You have to do your best while you still have a chance. Life is short. You never know when the game, when your body, will be taken away from you. Don’t waste it!