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Conquer Yourself: How Plato & Nietzsche Can Help You Build Self-Discipline
Philosophies on Self-Discipline: Lessons from History’s Greatest Thinkers on How to Start, Endure, Finish, & Achieve (Live a Disciplined Life Book 7) By Peter Hollins
Hear it Here - https://bit.ly/philosophieshollins
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08H1BSFCV
8 meditations on goal achievement and getting things done no matter the circumstances.
Instead of trying to go it alone or wing it, apply lessons from some of history’s greatest thinkers. Harness thousands of years worth of wisdom, not just your own.
Our thoughts determine our actions. Learn from the best and create a self-disciplined mindset.
Philosophies on Self-Discipline brings you the condensed knowledge of philosophers, polymaths, scientists, and psychologists. You will gain a working knowledge of many classic texts and theories, and learn how to apply them to your own modern life. There is no better way to become a well-rounded person who is also productive on command, and never prone to procrastinating.
Thousands of years of knowledge in one book.
Peter Hollins has studied psychology and peak human performance for over a dozen years and is a bestselling author. He has worked with a multitude of individuals to unlock their potential and path towards success. His writing draws on his academic, coaching, and research experience.
A quintessential guide for procrastinators and couch potatoes.
•Plato, Akrasia, and the power of small wins.•Nietzsche and the energy that our willpower runs on.•How to re-imagine hedonism for your own purposes.•Freud, subconscious desires, and getting things done.•The science of behaviorism and what we can learn from rats.•Kaizen, rituals, and focusing on the present.
Use tips and techniques that combine psychology with philosophy.
No more ifs, buts, or ands. Just simple action and execution.
Get started, fight your resistance, and finish your task -- starting with clicking the BUY NOW button.
This is the seventh book in the “Live a Disciplined Life” series, as listed below:1.The Science of Self-Discipline: The Willpower, Mental Toughness, and Self-Control to Resist Temptation and Achieve Your Goals2.Finish What You Start: The Art of Following Through, Taking Action, Executing, & Self-Discipline3.Neuro-Discipline: Everyday Neuroscience for Self-Discipline, Focus, and Defeating Your Brain’s Impulsive and Distracted Nature4.Mind Over Matter: The Self-Discipline to Execute Without Excuses, Control Your Impulses, and Keep Going When You Want to Give Up5. Practical Self-Discipline6.Legendary Self-Discipline: Lessons from Mythology and Modern Heroes on Choosing the Right Path Over the Easy Path7. Philosophies on Self-Discipline: Lessons from History’s Greatest Thinkers on How to Start, Endure, Finish, & Achieve
#Akrasia #Aristotle #FriedrichNietzsche #Nietzsche #PhilosopherDonaldDavidson #Plato #Schopenhauer #Selfdiscipline #RussellNewton #NewtonMG #PeterHollins #TheScienceofSelf #PhilosophiesonSelf-Discipline
Transcript
Philosophies on Self-Discipline:
Speaker:Lessons from History’s Greatest Thinkers on How to Start,
Speaker:Endure,
Speaker:Finish,
Speaker:& Achieve (Live a Disciplined Life Book 7)
Speaker:By Peter Hollins, narrated by russell newton.
Speaker:Akrasia is whenever we work against our own best interests.
Speaker:Aristotle claimed we could combat akrasia through self-disciplined action
Speaker:toward our goals,
Speaker:repetition,
Speaker:and being honest with ourselves.
Speaker:Plato claimed we simply needed to avoid finding goodness in bad actions.
Speaker:You know you want to get in shape,
Speaker:and you’re finally committed to it,
Speaker:buying an expensive gym membership and laying out a new plan for exactly how
Speaker:you’re going to gain strength.
Speaker:Day one and two of your new protocol work well,
Speaker:but on day three,
Speaker:something strange happens.
Speaker:You skip your workout.
Speaker:Despite knowing how badly you want to be better,
Speaker:despite understanding all the benefits on the table and how proud and confident
Speaker:you’d feel if you actually achieved this goal,
Speaker:despite all the dedication and good will you began with,
Speaker:you skip your workout and watch YouTube videos instead.
Speaker:What happened?
Speaker:It’s a strange part of the human condition when you really think about it.
Speaker:We have what feels like a will to do something,
Speaker:and yet there is something else seemingly acting against us.
Speaker:Some call it plain old temptation,
Speaker:i.e. going for the pleasurable thing in the moment rather than staying the more
Speaker:difficult but more rewarding path.
Speaker:Others would call it laziness,
Speaker:procrastination,
Speaker:weakness,
Speaker:or self-sabotage.
Speaker:Some would suggest that behaving this way means you simply don’t want your
Speaker:goals badly enough,
Speaker:because if you did,
Speaker:you’d move mountains to achieve it.
Speaker:It turns out this problem existed long before the modern distraction of
Speaker:YouTube,
Speaker:however.
Speaker:Ancient philosophers tried to understand this phenomenon and asked themselves,
Speaker:why do people act against their own interests?
Speaker:And seeing as we do,
Speaker:how can we take control and reach the goals that are so important to us?
Speaker:The term akrasia describes this phenomenon,
Speaker:and is from the Greek ἀκρασία,
Speaker:which means “lack of command."
Speaker:Lack of command over what?
Speaker:Yourself.
Speaker:Plato asked the question in his dialogue Protagoras,
Speaker:wondering why a person who acknowledges that something is the best and most
Speaker:rational course of action would then still fail to do it.
Speaker:Aristotle believed that akrasia comes in different forms,
Speaker:and one type of akrasia occurs because of what he called passion,
Speaker:which causes the apparent lapse in good judgment and rationality.
Speaker:The idea that emotions could derail rationality and lead to foolish behavior
Speaker:was a common theme for philosophers of the day.
Speaker:The other type of akrasia,
Speaker:according to Aristotle,
Speaker:was down to a weak will.
Speaker:Rationally and intellectually comprehending the results of your behavior is one
Speaker:thing,
Speaker:but deliberately choosing against your best interests speaks to a lack of
Speaker:self-discipline.
Speaker:So,
Speaker:according to Aristotle at least,
Speaker:the phenomenon of akrasia comes down to being either too passionate (a will
Speaker:overrun with emotion)
Speaker:or too weak (a will that isn’t strong enough).
Speaker:For Aristotle,
Speaker:akrasia was simply a sign that a person’s will was not up to the task of
Speaker:achieving the magnitude of their goals.
Speaker:He didn’t see any logical problem with saying,
Speaker:“Person wants A,
Speaker:but ends up doing B”—he only saw a lack of discipline.
Speaker:Now,
Speaker:you might have a strong will but simply choose not to apply it to certain ends,
Speaker:and that wouldn’t be akrasia;
Speaker:however,
Speaker:if you sincerely intended something and still couldn’t muster the discipline
Speaker:to do it,
Speaker:it is akrasia,
Speaker:and comes down to one or another of the reasons above.
Speaker:Plato had a somewhat different view.
Speaker:In essence,
Speaker:he believed that akrasia (as it’s defined above)
Speaker:doesn’t really exist at all.
Speaker:To understand his viewpoint,
Speaker:you need to know that for Plato,
Speaker:goodness and pleasure were essentially the same thing.
Speaker:He believed that people do what feels good to them,
Speaker:and that there isn’t anything intrinsically wrong with this impulse.
Speaker:Plato suggested that people will act freely and without struggle to do
Speaker:something they genuinely gain pleasure from.
Speaker:Addictive and avoidant behaviors aside,
Speaker:it’s probably fair to say that we all enjoy the things that are genuinely
Speaker:good in life.
Speaker:From this,
Speaker:it follows that if we are not doing something we said we would,
Speaker:then we can look at what we are doing and assume that we’re doing that
Speaker:instead because it feels good.
Speaker:Plato famously said,
Speaker:“No one goes willingly toward the bad."
Speaker:What did he mean by this?
Speaker:For Plato,
Speaker:any action that went against your best interests was simply a sign that you
Speaker:didn’t know any better and didn’t have a good grasp of what was good for
Speaker:you.
Speaker:He believed it wasn’t necessarily a lack of self- control that led to
Speaker:akrasia,
Speaker:but a tendency to find relatively more pleasure in all those things that
Speaker:didn’t lead to our goals.
Speaker:In other words,
Speaker:akrasia is not necessarily moving away from what’s good for you,
Speaker:but moving toward a “bad habit” and justifying it one way or another.
Speaker:This is a subtle but fascinating perspective.
Speaker:Plato is saying that,
Speaker:in effect,
Speaker:we do behave rationally when we act.
Speaker:If you skip your gym workout to waste time online,
Speaker:it must be,
Speaker:he said,
Speaker:because you have found enough goodness in doing so.
Speaker:Consciously or unconsciously,
Speaker:you have made the decision to do what you’ve done.
Speaker:No paradox or irrational behavior needed.
Speaker:We can all identify with this.
Speaker:It’s easy to commit to a new diet when you’re feeling inspired (i.e.
Speaker:you’ve focused on all the goodness and pleasure that comes from being slim,
Speaker:healthy,
Speaker:and energetic),
Speaker:but when faced with a slice of chocolate cake,
Speaker:you forget all that and focus instead on the goodness and pleasure that comes
Speaker:from your stuffing your face with it.
Speaker:More contemporary philosophers have tackled the issue of akrasia both as a
Speaker:logical argument and a seeming paradox,
Speaker:and as an element of a more moral or ethical approach to understanding
Speaker:humanity’s potential and weaknesses.
Speaker:Philosopher Donald Davidson,
Speaker:for example,
Speaker:aligns with Plato’s view and suggests that if it’s really true that someone
Speaker:wants to do A,
Speaker:but when it comes down to it,
Speaker:does B (which they already decided was less appealing than A),
Speaker:the only explanation could be that they have temporarily appraised B as more
Speaker:appealing than A. They may do this because they haven’t properly considered
Speaker:all the facts that weigh in on their judgment about which is better—for
Speaker:example,
Speaker:how delicious and tempting chocolate cake is and how much they really enjoy
Speaker:eating it!
Speaker:Other philosophers and behavioral psychologists have echoed Aristotle’s view
Speaker:that there are essentially two driving forces or kinds of motivation at
Speaker:work—and it’s perfectly possible for them to conflict.
Speaker:For example,
Speaker:one more rational,
Speaker:future-focused part of us genuinely wants to eat better,
Speaker:and another,
Speaker:more emotional,
Speaker:present-based part of us wants to eat the cake now.
Speaker:There is no contradiction,
Speaker:only the evidence of two different motivations that inspire our actions to
Speaker:different extents in different contexts.
Speaker:Since this book is all about self-discipline and strengthening our will to help
Speaker:us achieve our goals,
Speaker:it makes sense to start with the concept of akrasia.
Speaker:But how exactly does it relate?
Speaker:Akrasia is a part of life,
Speaker:but we can lessen its effects by deliberately strengthening our self-discipline.
Speaker:Properly understanding and managing akrasia is fundamental,
Speaker:because it has the potential to undermine all our self- improvement efforts.
Speaker:You could work incredibly hard,
Speaker:gather all the necessary skills and mastery,
Speaker:commit to realistic goals and more,
Speaker:only to have the whole thing fall to pieces because you procrastinate right
Speaker:where it counts.
Speaker:If you are trying to develop self-discipline,
Speaker:it makes sense to begin with a realistic appraisal of all the ways human nature
Speaker:works against self-discipline,
Speaker:so that these obstacles can be removed consciously.
Speaker:Many people waste time making elaborate justifications for doing the thing they
Speaker:didn’t plan to do (I ate the cake because it’s my cheat day,
Speaker:and it doesn’t matter,
Speaker:because I’ll start again tomorrow,
Speaker:and it was only a little slice of cake anyway,
Speaker:and a very healthy cake...),
Speaker:but this gets them no closer to where they actually want to be.
Speaker:Counterintuitively,
Speaker:it’s in understanding why we fail to do the things we know are good for us
Speaker:that helps us better understand how to succeed at doing those things.
Speaker:We can then work on solving the problem intelligently,
Speaker:controlling our natural tendencies rather than being passively subject to their
Speaker:whims and having them control us.
Speaker:We can use Plato’s and Aristotle’s ideas on akrasia as a springboard to
Speaker:better grasp our own tendencies to self-sabotage.
Speaker:You might have already identified a possible solution given the explanation
Speaker:above - can we be more self-disciplined by making ourselves feel as though what
Speaker:we are doing is good and pleasurable?
Speaker:Instead of trying to force ourselves to avoid temptation and push on
Speaker:diligently,
Speaker:can we understand our stated goals in such a way that they become the thing we
Speaker:naturally want to do,
Speaker:without any effort or force required?
Speaker:The opposite of akrasia is enkrateia,
Speaker:which is to “be in power over oneself."
Speaker:When we are under the spell of akrasia,
Speaker:it’s often because we have,
Speaker:in one way or another,
Speaker:decided that the non-planned course of action is more pleasurable or better
Speaker:somehow.
Speaker:But if we take control of ourselves,
Speaker:we can adopt a perspective that refuses to rationalize or find goodness in
Speaker:harmful behaviors,
Speaker:while deliberately seeing the good in a stated goal.
Speaker:We need to be smart about akrasia,
Speaker:and think ahead.
Speaker:One of the mistakes we make is failing to recognize that our lazy selves are
Speaker:just as smart and dedicated as our rational,
Speaker:planning-ahead selves.
Speaker:It means that whatever you do,
Speaker:your lazy self will be there,
Speaker:dreaming up an excuse or justification that will topple the best laid plans.
Speaker:So,
Speaker:what can we do,
Speaker:knowing about this unavoidable tendency?
Speaker:How to Combat Akrasia and Develop Self- Discipline Use Mini Rewards Sadly,
Speaker:the human brain tends to place a higher value on immediate satisfaction,
Speaker:gains,
Speaker:and rewards than on delayed gratification in the future.
Speaker:A pleasurable thing sitting right in front of us is always going to feel more
Speaker:significant than an abstract idea of something in the future,
Speaker:making our more emotional,
Speaker:present-based selves overpower our rational selves.
Speaker:A good way to combat this is to try to make long-term gains more accessible
Speaker:right here,
Speaker:in the present,
Speaker:while at the same time dialing down how pleasurable more immediate temptations
Speaker:feel.
Speaker:What you want to do is access feelings of pleasure associated with the goal.
Speaker:Remind yourself why you chose this goal in the first place,
Speaker:and bring some of the pleasure into the here and now so you are compelled to
Speaker:choose it.
Speaker:Nobody wants to expend effort for a reward that only happens later (or not at
Speaker:all!),
Speaker:so fix the problem by engineering your own mini reward to keep you motivated
Speaker:and focused on the right goal.
Speaker:What could be experienced as pleasurable in the moment without being the actual
Speaker:fulfilled goal?
Speaker:Think about cutting a task into chunks,
Speaker:not because it’s easier to do and organize,
Speaker:but because you want to emphasize the sensation of having completed something.
Speaker:It doesn’t have to be anything big— sometimes,
Speaker:simply seeing your progress accurately recorded on a graph is enough to keep
Speaker:you going.
Speaker:Even doing relatively poorly once in a while can be felt as rewarding if it’s
Speaker:seen in the grand scheme of things.
Speaker:You can still experience the pleasure of knowing that you’re pushing on and
Speaker:have ticked another day off the list.
Speaker:Really take your time to acknowledge small milestones and achievements.
Speaker:Pause and enjoy it.
Speaker:Share your progress with others.
Speaker:Do a little visualization where you see yourself one step closer to your goal.
Speaker:Give yourself a little reward.
Speaker:All of this is powerfully communicating to your brain - this is what you want,
Speaker:this feels good,
Speaker:keep going.
Speaker:On the other hand,
Speaker:it might be possible to reduce the pleasure you get from engaging in
Speaker:self-indulgent or addictive behaviors that take you away from your goal.
Speaker:People do this in all sorts of ways.
Speaker:You could ask an accountability buddy to playfully shame you when you skimp on
Speaker:your commitments,
Speaker:or pledge to never keep any snacks in the house so that the hassle of driving
Speaker:to the store to get them is more trouble than it’s worth.
Speaker:Whatever trick you use,
Speaker:the key is to focus on pleasure and goodness.
Speaker:You want to do what it takes to make the right thing as appealing,
Speaker:comfortable,
Speaker:and pleasant as possible,
Speaker:while the wrong thing seems like a paltry alternative.
Speaker:It may be no more complicated than regularly checking in with your deeper
Speaker:motivations behind your goals.
Speaker:If you want to lose weight because you don’t want to die young of diabetes
Speaker:and never meet your grandkids,
Speaker:knowing how to summon that motivation will be a powerful antidote to the charm
Speaker:of a lousy piece of cake.
Speaker:Keep Things Small and Humble Anyone can have grand plans and noble visions for
Speaker:how their life could be at some undefined point in the future.
Speaker:But these can all be toppled by a tiny inconvenience in the present moment.
Speaker:The wrestling match between your higher rational self and your more emotional,
Speaker:pleasure-driven self happens in the present moment,
Speaker:right here,
Speaker:under your nose.
Speaker:So,
Speaker:meet it there.
Speaker:Sometimes,
Speaker:we pass up on goals we genuinely care about precisely because they seem so
Speaker:grand and lofty compared to the minor decadence we’re considering in the
Speaker:moment.
Speaker:In other words,
Speaker:big goals can be intimidating and overwhelming,
Speaker:making you less likely to stick to them.
Speaker:After all,
Speaker:the gap between where you are now and where you want to be can seem
Speaker:enormous—and crossing it can seem like a Herculean feat.
Speaker:It's no wonder,
Speaker:then,
Speaker:that the little pleasure,
Speaker:distraction,
Speaker:or addiction seems so attractive.
Speaker:It feels like doing more of the same is simply a natural extension of where you
Speaker:are currently.
Speaker:If you’re already overweight,
Speaker:what’s one more pound gained,
Speaker:or one more piece of cake?
Speaker:Especially when you consider that losing,
Speaker:say,
Speaker:thirty pounds is going to take much,
Speaker:much more effort.
Speaker:You may find yourself saying,
Speaker:“I’ll do it.
Speaker:but tomorrow,” and this is a clear sign that you’ve weighed up the easy
Speaker:cheat today with the difficult task of losing thirty pounds.
Speaker:But this is actually a distortion.
Speaker:The truth is that you don’t have to achieve this mammoth goal all at once,
Speaker:in this moment.
Speaker:You only need to take the steps necessary for today.
Speaker:The real faceoff is between saying yes to cake and saying no to it.
Speaker:Your goal is made up of many small actions,
Speaker:and you only need to do one at a time.
Speaker:Again,
Speaker:breaking down goals is great,
Speaker:but not because it makes each step easier to achieve.
Speaker:Rather,
Speaker:it sets you up psychologically to feel that each step is achievable.
Speaker:The first step is most important.
Speaker:Many of us hold off on beginning a new plan because we’re overwhelmed with
Speaker:the size of the project.
Speaker:But in reality,
Speaker:you only need to begin.
Speaker:Take one step.
Speaker:Forget about end results.
Speaker:You can take the next step later,
Speaker:but just focus on this one for now.
Speaker:Our lazy self plays a trick on us - it says that if you can’t do the thing
Speaker:properly,
Speaker:you might as well not do it.
Speaker:This is nothing more than justification for a bad habit.
Speaker:Be prepared for this by refusing to be a perfectionist.
Speaker:If you can’t find a half hour to exercise,
Speaker:then exercise for twenty minutes.
Speaker:If you can’t exercise for twenty minutes,
Speaker:then exercise for ten.
Speaker:Even if your only goal for the morning is “write a chapter heading for my
Speaker:report,” doing it means you’ve made progress.
Speaker:Keep your actions small and humble,
Speaker:and paradoxically,
Speaker:you’ll be giving yourself more of a chance at achieving those grand goals.
Speaker:Use the Power of Ritual The best way to get rid of a bad habit is not to
Speaker:eliminate it but to replace it with a good habit.
Speaker:If your brain likes habits,
Speaker:then why not go with that?
Speaker:Structure,
Speaker:repetition,
Speaker:and routine sound boring,
Speaker:but they are powerful ways to shape and control your sense of motivation.
Speaker:This is because a good ritual or habit takes the action out of your hands
Speaker:completely— you do something automatically rather than deliberate over it and
Speaker:risk giving your lazy self the chance to step in and cause trouble.
Speaker:With a good ritual,
Speaker:we are hurried along into action before our minds can come up with excuses or
Speaker:distractions.
Speaker:Better yet,
Speaker:ritual reinforces the behavior we want to keep performing.
Speaker:Every time we do something great toward our goals,
Speaker:we cement that action and make it easier to do next time round.
Speaker:Make the right choice as non-negotiable and automatic as brushing your teeth
Speaker:every day.
Speaker:Don’t even begin to entertain that voice inside that suggests there’s
Speaker:something more immediately pleasurable to do instead.
Speaker:An example is someone who wants to jog every day,
Speaker:but has trouble waking up each morning and getting that run in while they have
Speaker:the time.
Speaker:So,
Speaker:they set up a situation that they literally cannot wriggle out of.
Speaker:They place a (loud)
Speaker:alarm clock near their running shoes,
Speaker:far from their bed,
Speaker:so they have to get out of bed quickly and run over to the shoes first thing in
Speaker:the morning.
Speaker:They set another alarm close to the front door for ten minutes later,
Speaker:just enough time to pull on running gear.
Speaker:Without thinking,
Speaker:they head out the door and start running before their mind has any chance to
Speaker:register how cold the day is or how lazy they feel.
Speaker:There is no opportunity to kick off with excuses because by the time they wake
Speaker:up,
Speaker:they’ve already started running.
Speaker:The Takeaway - The goal is to reduce the power akrasia has over you by
Speaker:cultivating better power over yourself and your actions.
Speaker:•Akrasia,
Speaker:derived from a Greek word meaning “lack of command,” is the phenomenon in
Speaker:which you act against your own best interests.
Speaker:Aristotle attributed it to either being overpowered by your emotions or having
Speaker:a weak will,
Speaker:while Plato believed that akrasia resulted from failing to understand what is
Speaker:truly good for you.
Speaker:•Akrasia is normal,
Speaker:and you can combat it by carrying out strategies that will nip it in the bud
Speaker:before it gets to fully take hold of you.
Speaker:•Use mini rewards to make goal- oriented action more pleasurable in the
Speaker:immediate moment.
Speaker:Rewarding yourself for completing smaller chunks of a big task grants you
Speaker:motivating packets of pleasure along the way,
Speaker:instead of having you constantly long for only the grand prize at the end of
Speaker:the road.
Speaker:•Have small,
Speaker:humble goals.
Speaker:A grand,
Speaker:lofty ambition can easily appear so overwhelming and out of reach,
Speaker:not to mention mostly abstract,
Speaker:that you are more inclined to see it as a pipe dream rather than a rousing
Speaker:force that pulls you to action.
Speaker:Breaking down a big goal into smaller ones helps you see the process as more
Speaker:manageable,
Speaker:thus making it easier for you to begin working toward that target.
Speaker:•Embed good habits with ritual and repetition.
Speaker:Implement a structure to your daily routine that will make it automatic for you
Speaker:to perform behaviors toward the achievement of your vision.
Speaker:Once you ingrain such actions in yourself that they become a habit,
Speaker:your lazy self will not even get the chance to talk you out of doing what is
Speaker:truly beneficial for you.
Speaker:•Finally,
Speaker:be honest with yourself as to when you’re making excuses and seeking the good
Speaker:in actions that don’t really serve your interests.
Speaker:No justifications,
Speaker:no rationalizations— just do it!
Speaker:Chapter 2.
Speaker:Nietzsche and Will to Power Friedrich Nietzsche believed we are all born with a
Speaker:will to power,
Speaker:but use it to different ends.
Speaker:Our self-discipline can keep our will to power aligned with our higher goals if
Speaker:we are conscious and mindful of it.
Speaker:We have a responsibility to create our own goals—and in the process,
Speaker:create ourselves.
Speaker:Let’s continue and see what other,
Speaker:more modern philosophers have to say about self-discipline and how we can
Speaker:better achieve our dreams.
Speaker:An idea closely related to akrasia is the concept of will,
Speaker:or more specifically,
Speaker:Nietzsche’s “will to power."
Speaker:Our goal in this book is to learn as much as we can about self-discipline from
Speaker:as many sources as possible so we can develop the skills and knowledge needed
Speaker:to genuinely improve in life.
Speaker:But let’s unwrap this idea a little - what are we really doing when we say,
Speaker:“I want to learn the violin,” or,
Speaker:“I’m going to be an entrepreneur.”?
Speaker:More abstractly,
Speaker:what is actually going on when we decide to do anything?
Speaker:What is it that makes a baby stand up and take its first steps,
Speaker:what makes people want to climb tall mountains,
Speaker:and what compels people to make art,
Speaker:invent,
Speaker:start businesses,
Speaker:have a family,
Speaker:or paint their living rooms green?
Speaker:You can probably think of a million things that you don’t care about
Speaker:achieving.
Speaker:While you may have many life goals,
Speaker:there are probably some achievements you are more than happy to forego or
Speaker:simply don’t care about.
Speaker:It’s not that you couldn’t,
Speaker:but rather that you choose not to.
Speaker:What does this tell us about the nature of our desires and actions we take?
Speaker:The idea of a “will to power” began with philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche,
Speaker:who explained that there must be some sort of driving force in all human beings
Speaker:that motivated them to do the things they did.
Speaker:This will can be channeled into any purpose,
Speaker:and is simultaneously a physiological,
Speaker:psychological,
Speaker:and metaphysical principle.
Speaker:The philosopher Schopenhauer’s work served as an inspiration for Nietzsche;
Speaker:Schopenhauer argued that there was a fundamental essence he called a great
Speaker:“cosmic will” that expressed itself through individual beings as a will to
Speaker:life.
Speaker:This he likened to a sexual instinct that permeated through the life of every
Speaker:living organism.
Speaker:Schopenhauer saw this will to life both as insatiable and the root of
Speaker:suffering;
Speaker:his suggested approach was to take control of and moderate this innate impulse.
Speaker:Nietzsche took this idea and ran with it.
Speaker:Initially he saw unchecked libidinous impulses (that are largely irrational)
Speaker:as the root of the Greek tragedies—the image is of a dark,
Speaker:unconscious force that could threaten mankind’s higher functioning if left
Speaker:unmanaged.
Speaker:You may recognize elements of Freud’s philosophy in this vision of human
Speaker:beings,
Speaker:or even see echoes of Aristotle’s distinction between passion and rationality.
Speaker:Later,
Speaker:Nietzsche refined his idea to a more optimistic one—he still saw the
Speaker:underlying will inside every person as a potentially destructive force,
Speaker:but he also saw it as a source of powerful energy that could be shaped and
Speaker:directed toward something wonderful and beautiful.
Speaker:He saw all of existence as consisting of an eternal,
Speaker:ever- renewing essence of will,
Speaker:a world made of nothing but will to power,
Speaker:expressed in an infinite number of ways.
Speaker:A plant sending a root into the soil or an animal eating another animal are
Speaker:biological expressions of this cosmic quality.
Speaker:The whole range of human interrelationships,
Speaker:from cruelty to compassion,
Speaker:is a psychological and spiritual expression of will to power.
Speaker:It’s the drive that powers both the mugger in the alleyway and the person
Speaker:defending themselves.
Speaker:The will to power is understood as an all- encompassing fuel for life itself,
Speaker:something like the engine in a car,
Speaker:or ink in a printer— it represents pure potential that can be channeled into
Speaker:many different ends,
Speaker:good or bad.
Speaker:Nietzsche’s theory encompasses everything from our irrational sexual or
Speaker:aggressive impulses to our finest instincts for truth,
Speaker:beauty,
Speaker:and justice.
Speaker:Nietzsche spoke about the human desire to have mastery and control over
Speaker:himself,
Speaker:others,
Speaker:and his environment.
Speaker:A baby walks,
Speaker:he reasoned,
Speaker:because it possesses a strong drive to master its own limbs,
Speaker:dominate gravity,
Speaker:and exercise some control over its environment.
Speaker:Nietzsche’s work is subtle and is sadly among the most misinterpreted in
Speaker:philosophy,
Speaker:primarily because this depiction of human beings can seem harsh and cruel.
Speaker:The concept of “domination” here,
Speaker:however,
Speaker:is not at all different from the desire to control our lower impulses,
Speaker:as we explored in the previous chapter.
Speaker:In other words,
Speaker:the will to power has a lot in common with self-discipline.
Speaker:The “power” part of the concept comes from having mastery or control over a
Speaker:situation,
Speaker:but Nietzsche had a more nuanced idea of what this meant,
Speaker:saying that we have power over others both when we harm them and help
Speaker:them—both allow us to feel a sense of our own power and mastery.
Speaker:Nietzsche’s work has often been used to justify atrocities and is associated
Speaker:with a nihilist perspective,
Speaker:but in reality,
Speaker:Nietzsche himself considered cruelty a poor option,
Speaker:since it could stem from a lack of power and mastery.
Speaker:What’s important is that the will to power in each of us is neutral.
Speaker:It’s neither good nor bad,
Speaker:although it can be directed toward any and all purposes.
Speaker:We all possess this basic fuel of life,
Speaker:but we each express it differently.
Speaker:An artist may have a will to create,
Speaker:a businessman the will to build wealth,
Speaker:a scientist the will to understand— but they are all subsets of the will to
Speaker:power.
Speaker:Nietzsche suggested that we all find ways to express our will to power,
Speaker:consciously or unconsciously,
Speaker:covertly or underhandedly.
Speaker:Devising a moral system and a set of rules that you impose on others is a form
Speaker:of will to power,
Speaker:whilst those who are less confident can still impose their values using guilt
Speaker:or passive aggression.
Speaker:But whether “strong” or “weak,” we all find ways to satisfy and express
Speaker:our will to power.
Speaker:This perspective on morality unfortunately allowed Nietzsche’s work to be
Speaker:misused and misrepresented,
Speaker:particularly by those who miss the essence of Nietzsche’s claim - that the
Speaker:will to power is one hundred percent neutral.
Speaker:Nietzsche himself nevertheless thought that some avenues for expression were
Speaker:preferable,
Speaker:and favored sublimating the will to power into life-affirming creativity.
Speaker:In particular,
Speaker:Nietzsche wrote about the concept of “self-overcoming,” which is the
Speaker:process of harnessing our inbuilt life energy and drive and focusing it on
Speaker:mastery of the ideal true self.
Speaker:For Nietzsche,
Speaker:a person is made,
Speaker:not born—it is up to us to develop ourselves,
Speaker:to take control and responsibility of our drives,
Speaker:and to strive to create beauty,
Speaker:order,
Speaker:and wellbeing in the world.
Speaker:How Does Will to Power Relate to Self- Discipline?
Speaker:Does Nietzsche’s philosophy have any value for us today when it comes to
Speaker:developing greater self-discipline?
Speaker:Let’s return to the analogy of an engine in a car,
Speaker:or ink in a printer.
Speaker:The engine and the ink are both what enable and power the function of either
Speaker:the car or the printer.
Speaker:Without it,
Speaker:neither can do their job.
Speaker:It’s the same with our will to power—we can imagine ourselves as
Speaker:invigorated and energized with a powerful but undirected inner force.
Speaker:This force belongs to every person,
Speaker:as well as every living organism on our planet.
Speaker:But where the car drives and what the printer prints is not set in stone.
Speaker:It takes someone to get into the car to deliberately steer it toward a
Speaker:particular destination,
Speaker:just as it takes someone to instruct the printer exactly what to print.
Speaker:Again,
Speaker:it’s the same with our will to power—it is unrealized until we direct it to
Speaker:some purposeful end.
Speaker:In this analogy,
Speaker:the driver of the car and the person deciding what to print are acting as
Speaker:self-discipline.
Speaker:The will to power can be directed toward horrific,
Speaker:useless,
Speaker:or confusing ends.
Speaker:It could be ignored,
Speaker:wasted,
Speaker:refined,
Speaker:or developed.
Speaker:What determines what you do with this fundamental will to power?
Speaker:You do.
Speaker:Nietzsche’s principles remind us that we are in control—if we want to be.
Speaker:A will to power is a force,
Speaker:but it has no direction or purpose.
Speaker:It is up to us to be discerning,
Speaker:to give it shape and purpose,
Speaker:and to direct it.
Speaker:It’s the easiest thing in the world to want something,
Speaker:but another thing entirely to adopt the mindset that allows you to take
Speaker:whatever action is required to realize that goal.
Speaker:Each of us is blessed with a will,
Speaker:but what we fashion for ourselves out of that will comes down to our conscious,
Speaker:disciplined,
Speaker:and intelligent mastery of ourselves to create the things we most want to see
Speaker:in our world.
Speaker:Nietzsche’s claim is a powerful one—that we are all imbued with an ability
Speaker:and desire to live,
Speaker:to thrive,
Speaker:and to express our inner being,
Speaker:take up space in the world,
Speaker:make a mark,
Speaker:and create what we want to create.
Speaker:Some people will waste this potential;
Speaker:others will misuse it.
Speaker:But there is always the possibility of channeling this force into good.
Speaker:Make Your Will like a Laser When light rays are diffused and spread out,
Speaker:their effect is weak;
Speaker:when light rays all point in the same direction,
Speaker:they can form a laser powerful enough to slice through steel.
Speaker:Your inner will to power is like this— relatively useless when not
Speaker:coordinated,
Speaker:but powerful when harnessed and channeled toward one unified purpose.
Speaker:Nothing can get done in life without will,
Speaker:energy,
Speaker:power,
Speaker:and motivation.
Speaker:This is the only material we have to work with in bringing our dreams to life,
Speaker:so it makes sense to use it wisely.
Speaker:If we fritter it away on inconsequential things,
Speaker:or divide ourselves on many unimportant goals,
Speaker:we never can muster up the full potent force of our free will.
Speaker:Resisting temptation,
Speaker:distraction,
Speaker:and addiction becomes much easier when the whole of your being is pulling
Speaker:toward the same goal.
Speaker:You find more motivation to start,
Speaker:and more inspiration to continue if you are always tapping into your deepest
Speaker:underlying drive in life.
Speaker:It’s an inspiring thought in itself - you don’t have to summon up energy or
Speaker:create it from nothing—you merely have to direct it optimally.
Speaker:A practical way to use this insight is to look at how you’re literally
Speaker:spending your attention and energy every day.
Speaker:Watch yourself and your routines closely as though you were trying to do an
Speaker:audit or budget for where you spend your will to power.
Speaker:Time is another fixed resource we are all blessed with—start by noting how
Speaker:you spend every moment of the day.
Speaker:After a week,
Speaker:look at the data.
Speaker:Note how much time is spent on sleep,
Speaker:on rest,
Speaker:on “life admin,” like exercise,
Speaker:grooming,
Speaker:eating.
Speaker:How much time is spent on work,
Speaker:including commuting,
Speaker:preparing,
Speaker:worrying?
Speaker:How much time is spent on mindless,
Speaker:addictive,
Speaker:or harmful behaviors?
Speaker:Honestly note it all down.
Speaker:You might like to compile a pie chart to see visually exactly where your
Speaker:time— and your life force—is going each day.
Speaker:You’ll see the problem immediately - even though most of us say things like
Speaker:“I care about family” or “I’m working on my novel,” in reality,
Speaker:we spend very little time on these so-called priorities.
Speaker:It can be very sobering to realize that you spend three times as much energy on
Speaker:social media as you do on quality time with those you love,
Speaker:especially since you’d probably say that the latter was more important than
Speaker:the former!
Speaker:Your will to power can only work for you when it’s aligned with your goals.
Speaker:This means you have to clearly define your goals,
Speaker:as well as make sure that you’re dedicating as much of your time and energy
Speaker:to achieving them as possible.
Speaker:Self- discipline is what makes you pull yourself into better alignment,
Speaker:mustering your whole self toward the things you most care about.
Speaker:Some call this integrity—the ability to live and act in accordance with your
Speaker:values.
Speaker:You don’t need a perfect mission statement written in stone—in fact,
Speaker:you may need to regularly revisit your motivations,
Speaker:priorities,
Speaker:values,
Speaker:interests,
Speaker:abilities,
Speaker:desires,
Speaker:goals,
Speaker:and aspirations.
Speaker:But it all comes down to the same thing - you have one life.
Speaker:What are you going to use it for?
Speaker:Are you going to squander your potential,
Speaker:or make every last drop of it work toward the things you most want to achieve
Speaker:in this life?
Speaker:Control Your Desires Mindfully Are you in control of your desires?
Speaker:Or are your desires in control of you?
Speaker:Here,
Speaker:“desires” means your addictive impulses,
Speaker:your knee-jerk fears,
Speaker:your irrational anger,
Speaker:your inappropriate lust,
Speaker:your laziness,
Speaker:your jealousy,
Speaker:your paranoia,
Speaker:your need for instant gratification.
Speaker:Nietzsche would say that as long as you are subject to these forces,
Speaker:you can never fully become everything you could be.
Speaker:Understanding our motivations,
Speaker:potentials,
Speaker:drives,
Speaker:desires,
Speaker:limitations,
Speaker:and more (i.e.
Speaker:understanding who we are)
Speaker:is a life’s work,
Speaker:and not something you can figure out with a few quick hacks.
Speaker:But we can make a start (and we have,
Speaker:in taking a closer look at akrasia and how it can disrupt our personal
Speaker:development attempts).
Speaker:One way to gain a good foothold over our derailing impulses is through
Speaker:meditation,
Speaker:although mindfulness as we conceive of it in the West today is not something
Speaker:that Nietzsche explicitly recommended.
Speaker:The first step to gaining mastery over your passions and desires is to fully
Speaker:acknowledge them as they emerge.
Speaker:And this takes awareness.
Speaker:Meditation is a powerful tool that can help you gain some crucial distance from
Speaker:the distracting thoughts that pop up and threaten to carry your attention and
Speaker:energy elsewhere.
Speaker:Half the battle is simply noticing that you are in fact under the sway of such
Speaker:desires and passions.
Speaker:In meditation,
Speaker:we practice recognizing excuses,
Speaker:distractions,
Speaker:addictions,
Speaker:fears,
Speaker:and other mental noise that get in the way of our focused will and discipline.
Speaker:Once those are recognized,
Speaker:we can then practice letting them go,
Speaker:or consciously choosing a different path.
Speaker:Think of it as gym for your will.
Speaker:Here’s a simple meditation routine you can practice daily to achieve a more
Speaker:focused will.
Speaker:Sit comfortably on a chair with both feet flat on the ground,
Speaker:back in proper alignment (neither slouched nor overly rigid),
Speaker:and hands resting on your lap.
Speaker:Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths,
Speaker:feeling and listening to the sound of each breath as you inhale and exhale.
Speaker:Relax any muscle that may be tensing—your forehead,
Speaker:jaw,
Speaker:arms,
Speaker:legs.
Speaker:Continue taking deep breaths and count slowly from one to ten as you go deeper
Speaker:into this relaxed state.
Speaker:Notice the thoughts that come,
Speaker:and let them when they do so.
Speaker:Try to be aware that you are not your thoughts,
Speaker:and that you can access a part of you that can look at these thoughts in the
Speaker:same way that you can observe passersby on the road.
Speaker:Next,
Speaker:imagine that your energy,
Speaker:attention,
Speaker:and will to power is a beam of light that you can consciously retract from a
Speaker:thought or behavior,
Speaker:and shine onto something else instead.
Speaker:Notice how you can control this light to shine from one part of your mind to
Speaker:another,
Speaker:from one thought to the next.
Speaker:This is how you develop the skill to wield your will to power toward more
Speaker:productive ends,
Speaker:by first practicing the ability to channel it as you please.
Speaker:Once you feel you have enough practice for the time being,
Speaker:imagine pulling back from the deeply relaxed state you are in as you take deep
Speaker:breaths and count backward from ten to one.
Speaker:Open your eyes.
Speaker:Practice this meditation exercise regularly to gain mastery of your will to
Speaker:power.
Speaker:Create Your Own Life;
Speaker:Create Your Own Meaning;
Speaker:Create Yourself There is a blank piece of paper in front of you.
Speaker:You have one hour,
Speaker:and a whole palette of colors to draw from.
Speaker:You can do anything.
Speaker:There are no limits,
Speaker:but once the hour is up,
Speaker:it’s up.
Speaker:What are you going to make?
Speaker:This situation is not much different from the situation we actually find
Speaker:ourselves in with life.
Speaker:Whatever your views on free will are,
Speaker:there’s no denying that we have some range of possible actions in front of us.
Speaker:Every day,
Speaker:we can choose our words,
Speaker:our attitudes,
Speaker:our reactions,
Speaker:the questions we ask,
Speaker:the perspectives we take,
Speaker:the values we hold dear,
Speaker:the meaning we find in things,
Speaker:the mistakes we’re willing to admit to.
Speaker:And in this way,
Speaker:every day,
Speaker:we create ourselves.
Speaker:If we have the ability to harness and control our own will to power and develop
Speaker:our self- discipline so that we are in control of our desires,
Speaker:then it follows that it is we who are in control of our lives,
Speaker:and not some mysterious external force.
Speaker:Nietzsche claimed that some people have “slave morality” in which they
Speaker:express their own will to power in weak,
Speaker:passive,
Speaker:or underhanded ways,
Speaker:while others have “master morality,” where they exercise their own will by
Speaker:imposing it on others weaker than themselves.
Speaker:Imagine a bully and the person they pick on.
Speaker:The bullied person might derive a sense of their own power by adopting a victim
Speaker:status that makes them feel vindicated and virtuous,
Speaker:whereas the bully might find their power in dominating and mastering others.
Speaker:It may be most helpful,
Speaker:though,
Speaker:to imagine that we have the capacity to express our will to power in both ways.
Speaker:As we saw in the previous chapter,
Speaker:akrasia is a serious threat to self-discipline,
Speaker:but slave/master morality might do more damage,
Speaker:since it’s often unconscious.
Speaker:Here are some examples of how you might be directing your will to power into
Speaker:less-than-ideal channels,
Speaker:or undermining it entirely -
Speaker:•Blaming others.
Speaker:When we believe that others control our fate,
Speaker:we stop asking how we ourselves are responsible,
Speaker:and give up our power to act for ourselves.
Speaker:•Complaining.
Speaker:Expressing dissatisfaction with life while taking no action to improve anything
Speaker:unconsciously speaks to your lack of confidence in your own power to master
Speaker:your environment.
Speaker:It’s as though if you complain hard enough,
Speaker:someone else will come to fix the problem for you!
Speaker:•Comparisons.
Speaker:When you have your own self-determined values and sense of integrity,
Speaker:it doesn’t matter what others do.
Speaker:Whether you believe you’re better than others or worse,
Speaker:comparisons only undermine your own will and power.
Speaker:Envy in particular is a denial of your own ability to achieve those same things
Speaker:for yourself (with effort,
Speaker:of course).
Speaker:Making excuses about why we can’t do the things we know are good for us is a
Speaker:missed opportunity to strengthen our will.
Speaker:Bearing in mind that you create yourself—do you want to be the kind of person
Speaker:who is powerless,
Speaker:reactive,
Speaker:and a victim?
Speaker:Do you want to grasp the opportunity and build yourself according to your
Speaker:values,
Speaker:or do you want to drift about with life,
Speaker:bouncing off other people’s wills and passively accepting what happens to you?
Speaker:You Can Always Take Responsibility For.
Speaker:yourself and own your choices,
Speaker:both good and bad.
Speaker:Many people say they “don’t have time” to work toward goals.
Speaker:They may see others succeeding and make some justification about why they
Speaker:couldn’t do the same.
Speaker:They blame a bad childhood,
Speaker:the government,
Speaker:their star sign,
Speaker:life in general.
Speaker:But all of this is just a distraction—as long as you fail to use your will to
Speaker:power,
Speaker:the page in front of you remains blank,
Speaker:your values unacknowledged,
Speaker:and your goals unmet.
Speaker:The Takeaway - Everyone has a will to power,
Speaker:but it’s up to you how you use it.
Speaker:Self-discipline is what keeps your will aligned with your true goals.
Speaker:•Nietzsche posited that human beings each possess a will to power,
Speaker:an inherent driving force that moves them to do the things they do.
Speaker:•While often construed negatively as a motivation to dominate others by
Speaker:force,
Speaker:will to power as conceived by Nietzsche is essentially neutral,
Speaker:a potential that may be expressed in a multitude of ways and can be channeled
Speaker:toward different ends.
Speaker:While Some May Use It As A. destructive force,
Speaker:others may instead direct it toward creative and productive ends.
Speaker:•You can wield your self-discipline to shape and channel your will to power
Speaker:toward worthy goals.
Speaker:You are the one who gets to decide whether your will to power is exercised
Speaker:toward beneficial ends,
Speaker:used to your own or others’ detriment,
Speaker:or remain disregarded,
Speaker:so a discerning and determined mind is essential to put the will to power to
Speaker:good use.
Speaker:•Your power is strongest when it’s focused,
Speaker:so clarify your goals and take stock of how you are really spending your time.
Speaker:When your inner will is concentrated toward a unified purpose,
Speaker:you become better at resisting distractions and come to streamline your actions
Speaker:toward purposeful ends.
Speaker:•Consciously and mindfully decide not to be controlled by your own irrational
Speaker:desires and passions.
Speaker:Practice Meditation To Gain Better.
Speaker:awareness of your own impulses,
Speaker:needs,
Speaker:and motivations.
Speaker:Recognizing such drives within you is the first step toward gaining control and
Speaker:better managing them.
Speaker:•No matter the situation or event that befalls you,
Speaker:you get to choose how you conduct yourself,
Speaker:from the thoughts you choose to dwell on,
Speaker:to the words you utter,
Speaker:to the meaning you find in things.
Speaker:You create yourself,
Speaker:so take responsibility and create something that matters!
Speaker:This has been
Speaker:Philosophies on Self-Discipline:
Speaker:Lessons from History’s Greatest Thinkers on How to Start,
Speaker:Endure,
Speaker:Finish,
Speaker:& Achieve (Live a Disciplined Life Book 7) By Peter Hollins, narrated by russell newton.
