26 Nov 07

Maybe I’ve been consuming too many Japanese works lately, but I’ve been thinking about the importance of discipline.

I mean little daily disciplines. Exercise. Getting to bed on time. “Little” things.

They don’t even really add up over time, the way that other habits can. Practice karate every day, and you’ll build an amazing set of skills. Get to bed on time, and your life will drift out of alignment in subtle ways. You’ll find yourself more irritable, more tense. But it’s not obvious.

I wonder how important those little daily disciplines are. We all stay up late every so often, but what’s too often?

I’m thinking perhaps I should be much more devoted to those disciplines than I am. Perhaps we all should be.