These sages
taught me that the virtue of self-discipline was like a wire cable.
Have you ever really taken the time to study a wire cable, John?"
"It hasn't been high on my priority list," I confessed with a
quick grin.
"Well, have a look at one sometime. You will see that it consists
of many thin, tiny wires placed one on top of the other. Alone, each
one is flimsy and weak. But, together, their sum is much greater
than their constituent parts and the cable becomes tougher than
iron. Self-control and willpower are similar to this. To build a will
of iron, it is essential to take small, tiny acts in tribute to the virtue
of personal discipline. Routinely performed, the little acts pile one
on top of another to eventually produce an abundance of inner
strength. Perhaps the old African proverb says it best: 'When
spider webs unite, they tie up a lion.' When you liberate your
willpower, you become the master of your personal world. When
you continually practice the ancient art of self-government, there
will be no hurdle too high for you to overcome, no challenge too
tough for you to surmount and no crisis too hot for you to cool
down. Self-discipline will provide you with the mental reserves
required to persevere when life throws you one of its little curves."
"I must also alert you to the fact that the lack of willpower is a
mental disease," Julian added surprisingly. "If you suffer from this
weakness, make it a priority to stamp it out quickly. An abundance
of willpower and discipline is one of the chief attributes of all those
with strong characters and wonderful lives. Willpower allows you
to do what you said you would do, when you said you would do it.
It is willpower that allows you to get up at five in the morning to
cultivate your mind through meditation, or to feed your spirit by a
walk in the woods when a cozy bed beckons you on a cold winter's
day. It is willpower that allows you to hold your tongue when a less-
actualized person insults you or does something you disagree with.
It is willpower that pushes your dreams forward when the odds
appear to be insurmountable. It is willpower that offers you the
inner power to keep your commitments to others, and, perhaps
even more importantly, to yourself."
"Is it really that important?"
"Most certainly, my friend. It is the essential virtue of every
person who has created a life rich with passion, possibility and
peace."
Through the steel of discipline, you will forge a character
rich with courage and peace. Through the virtue of Will,
you are destined to rise to life's highest ideal and live
within a heavenly mansion filled with all that is good,
joyful and vital. Without them, you are lost like a
mariner without a compass, one who eventually sinks
with his ship.
You condition your willpower just as your son conditions his body at the
gym.
Anyone, no matter how weak or lethargic they might currently
be, can grow disciplined within a relatively short time.
"When you have self-control, you will have the resolve to do
the things you have always wanted to do. For you, it may be
training for a marathon or mastering the art of white-water
rafting or even giving up the law to become an artist. Whatever it
is you are dreaming of, whether it is material riches or spiritual
riches, I will not be your judge. I will simply tell you that all these
things will be within your grasp when you cultivate your sleeping
reserves of willpower."
"Building self-control and discipline into your
life will also bring you a tremendous sense of freedom. This alone
will change things."
"What do you mean?"
"Most people have liberty. They can go where they want and
do the things they feel like doing. But too many people are also
slaves to their impulses. They have grown reactive rather than
proactive, meaning that they are like seafoam pounding against a
rocky shore, going in whatever direction the tide might take them.
If they are spending time with their families and someone from
work calls with a crisis, they hit the ground running, never
stopping to think which activity is more vital to their overall well-
being and to their life's purpose. So, after all I have observed in
my life, both here in the West and in the East, I say that such
people have liberty but lack freedom. They lack a key ingredient
to a meaningful, enlightened life: the freedom to see the forest
beyond the trees, the freedom to choose what is right over what
seems pressing."
"And building willpower will offer me more freedom?"
"Freedom is like a house: you build it brick by brick. The first
brick you should lay is willpower. This quality inspires you to do
what is right in any given moment. It gives you the energy to act
with courage. It gives you the control to live the life you have
imagined rather than accepting the life that you have."
"Believe it or not, developing the power of your will can erase
the worry habit, keep you healthy and give you far more energy
than you have ever had. You see, John, self-control is really nothing
more than mind control. Will is the king of mental powers. When
you master your mind you master your life. Mental mastery starts
with being able to control every thought that you think. When you
have developed the ability to discard all weak thoughts and focus
only on those that are positive and good, positive and good actions
will follow. Soon you will start attracting all that is positive and
good into your life.
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