Freedom is Binary
Discipline equals freedom is a commonly recited slogan by achievers.
It can seem counterintuitive in the sense that freedom can be achieved through structure.
Key to understanding the relationship between discipline and freedom lies in uncovering the dichotomy within freedom.
There are two kinds of freedom:
Freedom ‘from’ (negative freedom)- anger, instant gratifications, mood, fear, procrastination…etc
Not to be confused with
Freedom ‘to’ (positive freedom)- do whatever whenever wherever.
Discipline is the ultimate building block for negative freedom. It locks in the desired behaviour, binds you to good habits and restricts you from bad behaviour.
Only the disciplined one’s are purely free in life and the indisciplined are slaves to their moods and passions — Eliud Kipchoge
An effective hack of building negative freedom could be having a certain time period each day where you’re highly disciplined. For example, this can be implemented by having a time management schedule that blocks out time for:
- Just-enough sleep.
- Meditation.
- Working out.
- Good nutrition.
- Creativity.
To safeguard against (To have freedom from):
- Fatigue and apathy.
- Mental obesity.
- Muscle atrophy.
- Diseases.
- Rent seeking status.
Negative freedom provides the foundation to exercise options (positive freedom) that are closest to what you most desire and want in your life.
Positive freedom, marked through optionality, is the pathway to the freedom that we all yearn for. Unbounded freedom.
