How to be Disciplined: Ruling Over Your Body

As I build my side hustle while working my 9 to 5, I have to keep growing in new areas and weaknesses to achieve my goal. 

I struggle with focus, discipline and consistency. Everything seems to get my attention but nothing keeps my focus. But, my perseverance has taken me this far, and I’m closer than ever to achieving my entrepreneurial goals despite personal setbacks. 

Current thing I’ve been working on for the past year has been saying no to what will stop me from achieving my goals and doing more of what works. 

Currently I’m reading the book “Discipline is Destiny” by Ryan Holiday. As I focus on learning and improving my discipline and habits I’ll be writing more about this topic for a while. I solve my problems and share the progress. 

Chapter 1. Ruling over the body 

This Chapter focuses on Baseball player Lou Gehrig who “For 2,130 consecutive games, Lou Gehrig played first base for the New York Yankees, a streak of physical stamina that stood for the next five-and-half decades”. 

He played while injured, tired and because he refused to quit and pushed through pain and physical limits. He died at a young age of 37 of Brain Trauma, ALS, and CTE with Motor Neuron Disease. He played till he knew he couldn’t and died a couple years later. It’s amazing how much dedication he put into the game, and how no matter what he always showed up.

I don’t do him justice by such a simplistic summary but I took away something very important from his story.

At any point after money and fame he could have stopped but didn’t. He loved what he did. He didn’t work, he played. It was more than pushing his body. It was the art of playing a game as a career and not working a day in his life. Yeah it probably got difficult at times but it was his calling. 

I would rather live a fewer but fulfilled years doing what I desire or searching for my calling than living a long unfulfilled life. 

What do I think now and what will I apply starting now?

Now discipline doesn’t seem the same. I do what I do because that’s what I chose and that’s what I’ll get in return. When things get difficult, now it will be because I’m not playing the game I want to play or maybe there is a new level in my game that I want to unlock. And for that I must Rule the Body and show up to play!