Discipline Equals Freedom by Jocko Willink — Book Summary, Notes, and Takeaways

 

Discipline Equals Freedom by Jocko Willink — Book Notes

Rating: 9/10

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High-Level Thoughts

A motivating collection of short passages illustrating Navy Seal Jocko Willink’s approach to discipline. Quite simply, maintaining a standard of discipline in certain areas creates immense freedom in others. The book is divided into two parts, the first includes Jocko’s thoughts on discipline, mindset, and focus, while the second is a list of practical advice on diet, exercise, sleep, and recovery. He also includes a 12-week workout program at the end which is, in a word, insane. Give this a read if you need a motivational boost.

Part One — Thoughts

Where does discipline come from?

  • You.

The person you can control

  • Learn from your idols both what to do and what not to do.

Mind Control

  • Jocko thinks about mind control from within, meaning he has detached himself from his own mind and instead uses it to direct his body
  • “Declaring martial law on your mind” -> impose what you want on your brain — dicipline, power, positivity, will.

Weakness

  • Everything we are is weakness
  • Those that accept that this weakness in not improvable will lose, while those that recognize it can be improved upon will win. Its a simple ‘above the line’ type of approach

Stress

  • Whatever problems or stress you are experiencing, detach from them
  • If the stress is something that you can control, that is a lack of discipline and a lack of ownership

Destroyer Mode

  • It takes both emotion and logic to reach your maximum potential, to really five everything you have, to GO BEYOND.
  • Fight the weak emotions with power of logic; fight the weakness of logic with the power of emotion

Until the End

  • Tendency to relax once the pimrary objectives was complete has to be trained out of new seals
  • It is never finished — there is always more to do — another mission, another task, another goal.

Application of discipline

  • It is waking up early
  • It is eating the right foods to fuel your system correctly.
  • It is disciplining your emotions so you can make good decisions.
  • It is about treating people the way you want to be treated
  • It is about doing the tasks you don’t want to do, but you know will help you

Questions

  • Questions EVERYTHING. Take nothing as fact until proven to you.
  • “Who am I? What have I learned? What have I created? What forward progress have I made? Who have I helped? What am I doing to improve myself today?

Compromise

  • Have areas in your life in which you do not compromise for any reason.
  • “I am going to work hard. I am going to train hard. I am going to improve myself. I am not going to rest on my laurels. I am going to own my mistakes and confront them. I am going to maintain my self discipline”

Nature vs. Nurture

  • It is about choice. The people who are successful decide they are going to be successful. They make that choice. They decide to be the first to work and the last to leave.

Fear of Failure

  • Fear of failure is good. But being TERRIFIED of sitting on the sidelines should be even more terrifying.

The Warpath

  • Are you on the path? This week I was not. In most things I was. But not in all things

Sugar-coated LIES

  • All that junk isn’t food — it kills you. It literally kills you.
  • You don’t even need to EAT! You don’t even know what hungry is.

Not Feeling It

  • What do I do on those days where I am not feeling it? I get up, and I do it anyway. Even if I am just going through the motions. You get it DONE.
  • Really NEED a day off. Good. But not today. Take tomorrow off. If you still need it, take the next day off. Don’t give in to the immediate gratification that is whispering in your ear.

Focus

  • Embed the long-term goal in your mind and do not let it fade. All it takes is a little bit for it to slip away from you.

Good

  • Welcoming in the face of all events. GOOD.

Every day

  • Every day is Monday. Every. Single. Day. It is always Day One. Definitely a personal ethos

Me vs. Me

  • We have genetic limitations. But we are nowhere near close to fulfilling them at any time.
  • Glory doesn’t happen in a stadium or on a stage. It happens in the darkness of the early morning. In SOLITUDE.

Remain Vigilant

  • We are not defeated in a singular battle. We are taken apart, slowly. Convinced to take an easier path.
  • We are defeated one tiny, seemingly insignificant surrender at a time that chips away at who we should really be.

Fear

  • Step aggressively toward your fear — that is the step into bravery

Overwhelmed

  • Yes. Live can be overwhelming. But when it is, its time to dig in and attack.
  • To asses what the problems are, and decide which one you are going to attack first. Then, get started. GO.

Negative talk from negative people

  • “I heard you had some pointers for me about how I’m doing my job. I’d love to get your feedback so I can tighten up my game” — how to deal with people talking poorly about you behind your back.
  • IGNORE AND OUTPERFORM.

Begin

  • This is where it begins. In the darkness. Before the sun and the birds and the world. Every day. IT IS TIME. Get up, and GO.

Part Two — Actions: GETTING AFTER IT.

Stress: Good and Bad

  • Acute stress every day trains the body how to deal with cortisol.

Sleep

  • The better condition I’m in and the cleaner I eat, the more quickly I will fall asleep and the less sleep I will need.
  • GO TO BED EARLIER.
  • The secret to getting up early? SET YOUR ALARM CLOCK AND GET OUT OF BED WHEN IT GOES OFF.
  • Don’t break the cycle. Get up early every day.

Power naps

  • Elevate your feet and take a 20 minute power nap.

    The Workouts

  • Push, Pull, Lift, Squat — see appendix

  • See appendix here for some GET SOME workouts.

Fuel: Fueling the Machine

  • We must control our blood glucose levels. To burn fat, your body must have burned through its entire levels of glucose stores. You do that via fasting, exercising, or decreasing the supply of carbohydrates to your body.
  • This is hard because carbohydrates are addictive. Clearly.

Addicted to Sugar

  • Sugar is addictive. It stimulates the same part of the brain as heroin and cocaine. When you have it, you want more of it. Stop eating it.

Fuel

  • Eat these
    • Beef
    • Poultry
    • Fish
    • Eggs
    • Nuts
    • Vegatbles
    • Some dairy
    • Limited Fruit
  • Don’t eat these
    • Grains
    • Potatoes
    • Refined sugars or processed oils
    • Legumes
  • 80/20 turns into 60/40. Any cheat into the dark side is earned before with rigorous, difficult exercise.
  • Sweet snacks — 80% dark chocolate, full cream w MCT oil and a dash of chocolate milk powder. Whipped cream with nuts on top.

Fasting

  • You don’t have to eat.
  • Fasting improves loss of body fat, autophagy, reduces risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.