365 Days With Self-Discipline: 365 Life-Altering Thoughts on Self-Control, Mental Resilience, and Success

Day 348: On Using Your Strengt h

Greatness lies not in being strong, but in the using of strength.

—Henry Ward Beecher

 

348

I’ve  never  understood  the  point  of  going  to  the  gym,  lifting  weights

and then heading back home, sitting on your butt for the rest of the week

and avoiding any kind of physical movement — never actually using your

strength for anything besides lifting weights. Doesn’t one find the purpose

for getting strong by actually using it for something besides training?

Throughout  the  book,  I’ve  listed  numerous  exercises  you  can  use  to

boost  your  willpower  and  become  a  more  self-disciplined  person.  Those

exercises  aren’t  there  for  entertainment  purposes;  I’m  sharing  them  with

you  so  you  can  actually  perform  them  and  then  apply  the  lessons  and

improvements that you gained through them to your goals.

There’s little point in practicing self-control for the sake of practicing

self-control. Of course, nothing prevents you from taking cold showers just

because you’d like to test yourself or controlling your thoughts just because

you’d  like  to  get  better  at  controlling  your  thoughts.  However,  remember

that  ultimately  the  intention  of  those  exercises  is  to  build  strength,  which

you then use to make your life better. 

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