Building Discipline with 7 Stoic Principles (1/2)

Fight against pleasure

The body wants to eat until it is full, but it ends up far beyond this limit. The body wants to drink until it is drunk, but we wake up only when we are past the point of drunkenness. The body wants what it wants right now, dealing with the consequences later.

We must be smart and stop it before it happens. If you feel overstuffed and uncomfortable if you have a hangover, and if you wake up the next morning full of regret and shame, was it really that great? Don’t just think about what a certain pleasure brings you. Also, think about what it takes away from you. Consider how you will remember it later when your pants are too tight or when you catch yourself in the mirror wondering when everything changed.

Self-discipline is not about refraining from excess because it is considered a sin or morally wrong. Rather, it’s about avoiding a life full of unnecessary suffering and negative consequences that we create ourselves. When we indulge every impulse and desire without restraint, we risk creating our hell right here in the present. It is important to realize that abstinence and restraint are not the same.

Abstinence means completely avoiding something, while restraint means moderation. It’s about knowing how to approach things seriously and…