Discipline

Discipline is such a battered word. The way that I’ve come to see it is like this: Discipline leads to skill and skill is fundamental to enjoying life.

Try to think of anything enjoyable that isn’t connected in some way to skill - whether yours or someone else’s. The joy of practice is so real, and I find that most unhappy people just aren’t working on anything. They drag through days, undetectably alive, not curious or inquiring about how to do something - anything - better. Not better only for the sake of recognition, but because it feels good to be more skillful at whatever your thing is. It’s just honest.

75% of the time I swing my leg over my motorcycle, I’m not doing it to get somewhere. I’m doing it for the experience of hitting a smooth line through a corner, for the sensation of freedom amongst nature, for development of the acutely subtle awareness required to manage traction at speed. I’m not going anywhere. It’s good to have practice that is product oriented, but if that isn’t balanced by practice that is process oriented, you get balled up.

I’m coming to believe that the opposite of depression is not happiness but curiosity. Happiness is fleeting (and wonderful), but curiosity will sustain you through dark times. The world is full of so many things for you to practice - there’s something out there for you.