The Harsh Truth About Self-Discipline (ft. Rich Roll)

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck Podcast

Mark Manson

Self-improvement, Education

4.8 • 3.8K Ratings

🗓️ 5 June 2024

⏱️ 95 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Use the code IDGAF to get 20% off your one-time order at https://livemomentous.com/

Get rid of unwanted subscriptions by signing up for Rocket Money at https://rocketmoney.com/idgaf

Take my podcast survey https://markmanson.net/tellme

I’ve often wondered if self-discipline is just a way of turning bad addictions into healthy ones. After all, addictions of all kinds are really just an attempt to numb and distract ourselves from facing uncomfortable feelings. Can’t the same be said for healthy behaviors once they reach a level of compulsion?

I brought Rich Roll on the pod to discuss this idea because, well, he’s a recovered alcoholic who turned into an ultra-endurance athlete in his 40s. Rich is no stranger to reinventing himself, repeatedly leveraging his flaws into virtues.

We talk about the value of pain as a catalyst for change, the idea that addiction is a spectrum that doesn’t just involve substances, terrible breakups, finding a deeper spirituality, lessons from Rich’s financial struggles, his career running a top podcast, and much, much more.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	About a year ago, a thought struck me, and I haven't really been able to shake it or come the terms with its sense.
0:06.3	And that thought is this. What if self-discipline is simply developing addictions that are good for you?
0:12.2	Like, what's the difference?
0:14.0	If I feel compelled to run every day
0:15.8	to keep myself happy, and if not running every day
0:18.5	makes me noticeably unhappy,
0:20.6	how is that, psychologically speaking, any different from needing to have a drink every day to be happy?
0:26.0	This idea really hit home for me the past few years with my health transformation.
0:30.0	For example, I used to have terrible eating habits.
0:33.0	Many of these poor eating habits resembled a kind of addiction.
0:36.0	If you put a dessert in front of me after dinner,
0:38.0	I literally did not know how to stop the spoon from entering my mouth.
0:42.0	Even if I was in pain, I couldn't stop eating it. If I ordered one drink,
0:46.2	it was a given that drinks two, three, and four would soon follow. It was simply unconscious.
0:50.6	To not order them was extremely uncomfortable and slightly upsetting.
0:55.0	Now initially when I started to undo these habits I did what everybody does.
0:59.0	I brute forced it. I created a plan and basically tortured myself until I stuck to it.
1:04.8	But as time went on, what I noticed was that it didn't really work.
1:08.6	At least, not in the long run.
1:10.4	What I slowly realized is that eventually I had to train my body to become addicted to the things that were good for it.
1:17.0	If I don't eat plenty of vegetables and whole foods now, I start missing them.
1:21.0	I start feeling worse for not eating them.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Mark Manson, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Mark Manson and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.