Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Freedom and Discipline - The warrior, the monk, and the surfer...


Jocko Willink, a Navy Seal and author, says that "Discipline is Freedom".  The sentiment goes all the way back to Aristotle.

It's easy to see what they mean. The "you" that thinks and plans controls the "you", that acts.  Discipline is when the actor does what the thinker wants.  The "thinker" has freedom.

Another reason why this feels right is that the opposite - a lack of discipline - is NOT freedom.  Acting based on the desires and impulses of the moment feels like the opposite of freedom.

But if that model is wrong -- if the self is one -- then Mindfulness is Freedom.  Being aware of what you as thinker/planner/doer are doing is freedom.  If the controller is the controlled, what other freedom could there be?

But what if the self is a system?  The thinker/planner is a governor for the doer.  But there are lots of other inputs to the system. Momentary desires, the environment, the state of the body all affect the system.  Even competing plans can affect the outcome.

So the self is a kind of avatar of the ever-changing system.  Surfing the waves of system states and behaviors, so to speak.  Inputs at one point in the stream - say eating a heavy meal, or creating a habit - can affect the system down the road - stomach upset, sleepiness, desired behaviors.  If early in the stream you had inputs (food, exercise, stimulation, sleep, lack of stress) that left you in a high energy state - the governor could stop you from consuming that heavy meal.

In this case, freedom comes in degrees -- the better you surf, the more free you are. Both discipline and mindfulness play a part, but so does the rest of the system and environment.

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