When Self-Control Isn't Enough

People don’t fail just because they lack self-control. They also fail because they follow someone else’s script. Stoic Strength Training, the system and its components I’ve been describing in detail over the past eight episodes, is how to write your own script. With this system you can begin living your highest values while pursuing your most important goals with much greater consistency.But here’s the thing. You don’t actually need it.Hey there. It’s me, Kore. And you’re listening to Exercising Self-Control: From Fitness To Flourishing.I’m committed to sharing and teaching Stoic Strength as a system of personal development. I believe it will make a massive positive difference in your life. And I not only talk the talk, I walk the walk. I live by this system myself. When I struggle it’s because I’m failing to be consistent with my own principles and The Practice itself.Okay. So, why am I saying you don’t need this?Because it’s the intent behind the system that counts. Any method you use must serve your intent. And if the system becomes an obstacle in itself, replace it with something better.Just like protocols in bloated bureaucracies, the juice sometimes isn’t worth the squeeze. When “filling in the paperwork” hampers the actual work, the need for the paperwork needs to be re-evaluated.Similarly, if you are content with your life and your progress, there’s no need to adopt a practice that adds extra work or distraction. But if you want to operate at a higher level of excellence, a planning system will help you organize your efforts and transform how you move through the world.The Rationale Behind This SystemAlright. All that said, I’m still convinced Stoic Strength Training, as a system of personal development, is an excellent choice. Here’s why:* It’s simple, straightforward, obvious, and easy to understand. Even though I reference neuroscience, psychology, and research studies the concepts and steps themselves are not complex.* It provides immediate proof of its effectiveness. Right out of the gate you aim to live as your Preferred Self, which is the foundation. That’s what drives every step from that point forward. In other words, the moment you choose to live your highest values, you are successful.* When you describe and define who it is that you are becoming you clarify every excellent choice from that point forward.* This also pinpoints any unhelpful beliefs or misguided thinking that create internal hurdles to your success. With that you can direct your attention to sort out these blatant internal hurdles.* How you need to adapt to go forward becomes glaringly obvious. The need for consistency of action is understood and the structure provides the boundary within which you take that action. You experience the calm, reasonable, responsible freedom to make better choices. All you need to do is take the next step. The next Task you’ve scheduled is your entire focus. You stop overthinking and make more progress, improving as you move.* The system is internally consistent.* Purpose defines your virtue* Principles ensure the experience of Purpose* Skills enact the Principles* Systems create the opportunity to iterate and refine your Skills* Tasks operationalize the Systems* Implement all five and you create a Virtuous Cycle that expands every day and with every 84 day experiment.* An improvement at any point strengthens the entire system, making it more effective all around.* The environment runs the system once it’s in place and you use it daily. As you reinforce your excellent choices with The Discipline they become habits. Once something becomes a habit it takes very little effort to enact. The circumstances themselves trigger the excellent conditioned response you’ve trained. Then you focus your conscious intention and effort on the behaviours that still need refinement and direction.Photo by Markus Winkler on UnsplashThe Real Power: ConsistencyThis is the real power of the system: it doesn’t ask you to be perfect. It asks you to be consistent. And consistency, when aligned with your highest values, is its strength. Every excellent choice reinforces the next one. Every completed Task strengthens your belief in yourself. Every 84-day experiment demonstrates that you can become who you’ve decided to become.The system works because it works with human nature, not against it. It acknowledges that we are creatures of habit, that our environment shapes us, and that small, deliberate actions create massive transformation over time.You don’t need Stoic Strength Training to succeed. But if you’re serious about operating with excellence more consistently, if you’re ready to stop drifting and start directing, then this system is your blueprint.You can write a better script for your life. Will you?The choice, as always, is yours.That’s it for today. Catch you next time. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other ...