7 Ways To Train And Discipline Your Character
Practical Steps to Build Resilience, Embrace Discomfort, and Cultivate a Life of Purpose
I was watching a live discussion between Ryan Holiday and Robert Greene the other day. Holiday asked Greene what he thought about AI, and his answer resonated with me. He recounted how, as a language student, he was tasked with translating a notoriously difficult passage. He spent hours and hours reading one paragraph, trying to understand it. Finally, he thought he cracked the code and handed in the translation to his professor. His professor told him that he was close, but that unfortunately the translation was wrong.
Greene went on to describe how this experience shaped him. It was one of the most difficult things he had ever done, and he failed at it, and had to keep working at it until he finally got it right. He used this story as a cautionary tale, warning us that AI is likely to rob children of experiences like these—experiences of using the brain to solve a puzzle, understanding that frustration that is part of learning.
His experience with that translation assignment was a character-building exercise. It led me to ponder the question, ‘How can we train and discipline our character?’ It led me to these seven thoughts:
The next time you’re about to purchase something for yourself. Stop. Instead of buying the thing, donate the money to charity.
The next time someone you love makes you angry, don’t say anything for several hours. Just take time to think and don’t aggravate the situation by saying something on impulse. Don’t indulge your ego’s perceived need to defend itself.
Take a cold shower.
When you say you're going to do something, do it. Make your words serve as vessels of accountability.
The next time you sit down to journal, instead of reflecting on your experience, brainstorm a list of ideas of how you can help those you love most.
Exercise 3-5 times a week.
Read the book Doing Good Better by William MacAskill and begin applying some of the principles of effective altruism found therein in your life. I’ve been making strides at my full time job in creating a pro-bono marketing program whereby myself and my colleagues can volunteer our time and skills to build free marketing campaigns for some of the world’s most effective charities. It may fail, but at least I’m trying.
Character, in the Stoic sense, is about getting comfortable with discomfort. It’s about refraining from acting on impulse. But at the end of the day, strong character is defined by how much we can share with the world.
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