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

Day 6: On Superhumans

Life  can  be  much  broader  once  you  discover  one  simple  fact:

Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were

no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can

build your own things that other people can use.

—Steve Jobs

 

6

Despite  an  enormous  selection  of  movies  about  superhumans,  they

don’t really exist. I know, it’s shocking news, right?

Nobody — including the world’s biggest geniuses — was, is, or ever

will  be  a  superhuman,  infinitely  better  in  all  aspects  than  the  average

mortal.

It’s easy to forget this fact when you look at the accomplishments of

the people who are changing the world around you. After all, they appear to

be  so  perfect  —  extremely  productive,  intelligent,  beautiful,  creative,

persistent, strong… and the list goes on.

Behind the scenes, everyone struggles in some areas of their lives.

I’m  an  author  of  several  books  about  self-discipline,  but  it  doesn’t

mean that I never struggle with self-control. I deal with the same problems

as every other person, and the only difference is that I’ve discovered how to

handle  some  of  them  a  bit  more  effectively.  I’ve  had  my  fair  share  of

failures, found myself unable to resist some temptations, and I jeopardized

some  long-term  goals  because  I  succumbed  to  the  allure  of  instant

gratification .

This  is  the  human  condition.  People  whom  you  consider  to  be

extremely  successful  aren’t  that  different  from  you.  Many  of  them  in  the

past had less willpower than you exhibit now, and many of them might be

more disciplined than you in one aspect, but less disciplined in another.

Becoming  a  self-disciplined  person  is  within  everybody’s  grasp.  You

don’t  need  to  have  won  the  genetic  lottery  or  get  introduced  to  a  country

club to develop self-control — and neither you nor anybody else will ever

achieve permanent, flawless self-mastery over every aspect of life. Accept

that and accept yourself, as well.

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