discipline. Because without it, chaos and complacency move in.
Discipline, then, is how we maintain that freedom.
It’s also how we get in the right headspace to do our work. The
writer and runner Haruki Murakami talks about why he follows the
same routine every day. “The repetition itself becomes the important
thing,” he says, “it’s a form of mesmerism. I mesmerize myself to
reach a deeper state of mind.”
When our thoughts are empty and our body is in its groove, we do
our best work.
A routine can be time-based. Jack Dorsey, the founder and CEO
of Twitter, gets up at 5 a.m., without fail. The former Navy SEAL
Jocko Willink gets up at 4:30 a.m. and posts a picture of his watch to
prove it each morning. Queen Victoria woke at 8 a.m., ate breakfast
at 10, and met with her ministers from 11 to 11:30. The poet John
Milton was up at 4 a.m. to read and contemplate, so that by 7 a.m. he
was ready to be “milked” by his writing.
A routine can be focused on order or arrangement. Confucius
insisted that his mat be straight or he would not sit. Jim
Schlossnagle, the baseball coach who took over TCU’s team after a
long run of mediocre play, taught his players to keep their lockers, as
well as the dugout, spotless and orderly at all times (the team has
never had a losing season since and made it to four straight College
World Series). The ordering also matters to tennis great Rafael
Nadal, who drinks water and a recovery drink in the same order and
then sets them in a perfect arrangement.
Routine can be built around a tool or a sound or a scent. Rilke
had two pens and two kinds of paper on his desk; one was used for
writing, while the other was acceptable for bills, letters, and less
important documents. Monks are called to meditation by the
chiming of a monastery bell; other monks rub a zuko incense on their
hands before ceremonies and meditations.
A routine can also be religious or faith-based. Confucius always
gave a sacrificial offering before eating, no matter how
inconsequential the meal was. The Greeks consulted the Delphic
oracle before any major decision and made sacrifices before battle.
The Jews have kept the Sabbath for thousands of years, Abad Ha’am
once said, just as the Sabbath has kept the Jews.
barry
(Barry)
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