Out of Chaos an organizing newsletter
Military Discipline
Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all.
George Washington
In honor of Veterans Day, I thought I’d riff for a moment on one of my favorite topics: discipline. There is something beautiful about the discipline of the military, and it is instructive too.
Soldiers have to have discipline, because for them the stakes are so high. The military wants to instill discipline so that when the going gets tough certain habits are ingrained and don’t get forgotten in the heat of battle. Though the stakes are lower for the rest of us, the concept is the same. If you tend to let the mail pile up, when you have a busy week at work or a child gets sick, it will only get worse. A few bad weeks in a row (and isn’t that how they always come?) and it will feel insurmountable. In the same vein, if you order dinner in frequently, you’ll end up ordering in every night when you have Back-to-School night and an evening work event in the same week. A few wacky weeks and both your waistline and your credit card bill will suffer the consequences.
There’s no system so perfect that it won’t fall apart without a certain amount of maintenance. Discipline is at the heart of every well-run home and office and discipline is our safeguard against the vicissitudes of life. Life is better when we have a way we do things, no matter what. I’m not talking about rigidity: Discipline is more about consistency and attention to detail than inflexibility.
Hold your feet to the fire. Up your game. Raise the bar. I’ve been using these phrases often lately. Sometimes we think that stress will kill us, and as a result we cut ourselves some slack. But I think some stress makes us stronger, and building up little disciplines—forgoing sugar, filing paperwork, paying bills on time—will actually lower stress over time. The more on top of your game you feel, the higher level you get to play at. And that is more fun.
So on this Veterans Day, honor their service by raising your own personal bar: Your stakes may not be life or death, but your quality of life is definitely worth defending.