From what I’ve seen, many fail to see discipline as a path to strategic excellence. In acquiring discipline, people set up quantifiable boundaries—neatness, fitness, routine, etiquette—and these are necessary in the beginning, so that one isn’t derailed by their personal cravings. But IMO, the goal of discipline isn’t to slavishly maintain “respectable” practices; it’s to be free from the nagging of cravings so that one can break the rules when necessary, then return to doctrine—if necessary. It’s not about worshipping some illusory ideal—being “tough” or “hard”—it’s about honing will and perception to the point where one can objectively decide what the next priority is, and have the personal fortitude to follow through on it. In this way, one can follow in the steps of Musashi, who flagrantly violated tradition/etiquette on a routine basis, yet maintained excellence through his focus on strategy. To me, EXCELLENCE is the goal, not some robotic perpetuation of tradition and etiquette.
Musings
Comments
10 responses to “Musings”
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The ends. The means. Sir, I would heed your advice in a second. You are truly wiser than myself!
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Absolutely. Contemplating annihilation and the futility of my life is how I keep from taking it too seriously, and how I sleep at night. But the thing is, I’m actually a comfort-driven person. I’ve come to the personal conclusion that striving for excellence is, in the end, the most comfortable net result, lol.
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I don’t usually self-promote in comments, but I’d be curious to know what you think about my new-ish ‘Notions’ posts – you seem like a thoughtful human (plus the idea was partly inspired by Musings 🙂 )
Kent Wayne 
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