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In my opinion, based on my personal observations, reading and listening to smart people of the past and present, the most important skill, even meta-skill, for

In my opinion, based on my personal observations, reading and listening to smart people of the past and present, the most important skill, even meta-skill, for every time and epoch is self-discipline - the ability to do things you need to do tolerating discomfort and suffering. Suffer now to thrive later. The epoch one lives in and their social position will dictate critical skills an individual requires to survive and move up - be it martial prowess, persuasion, focus. People with strong discipline can grow those skills quicker and farther. A good inspirational example for me was in David Goggins’ book “Can’t Hurt Me”, where he vividly describes his inner fight against his mind that always wants comfort now; he shares that the main reason he tortures himself with physical challenges is not to become physically strong, but to grow an armored mind, one that is prepared for real life struggles.

gexla 7y ago
Self discipline is one of the psychology things which might not actually be a thing though. Often cited in this sort of discussion is the "marshmallow test" which has been found to be BS. Maybe there's something to willpower, but the discussion is stinky right now because of the replication issues. Same for "flow" which is another smell this article and related discussions have. I find that I can be incredibly self disciplined when I setup my environment so that I don't have to fight myself. How do I fight distractions from my phone when I'm out with friends? I don't bring my phone. And yet somehow I always manage to meet with people at the time and place we decide on. I know not everyone can do this, I'm just using it as an example. A feeling of a lack of self discipline is a symptom, much like procrastination. It's a mess of things all clumped together like a rats nest of wires. Everyone has their answer to procrastination (the book is in progress!) but beating procrastination isn't a skill because it isn't the root problem. Much like a headache could mean that you are going to die from cancer or you might just need some rest. If you feel you have procrastination problems, it's because something broke upstream and now you are blaming it on procrastination. ETA: Herding my own actions is about preparation and personal story telling. If I setup a clear path for the next day and get good sleep, then it will work. If I get a bad night of sleep and I'm unorganized, then it's going to be a disaster and I'm going to complain about procrastination. If I see a cake which looks good and I have a weak reason not to eat it, I'm going to eat the thing. If I manage to convince myself to join the cult of low-carbs, then I wouldn't be caught dead with a piece of cake. If I'm working with people who are laid back, then I become laid back. If I'm working with people who are ultra-competitive, then I become competitive. It's all about pouring the kool-aid and then convincing myself to drink it. ;)
- raverbashing 7y ago
  I think you summed it up pretty nicely, I might have even used the same words. But in a sense, procrastination is "natural" as much as the taste of sugar is natural, but if you allow yourself to be carried out by it then it becomes a problem.
  - tonyedgecombe 7y ago
    Which wouldn't be a problem if sugar was still scarce. It's the abundance of food and distractions which messes us up.
    - raverbashing 7y ago
      Correct, that's the reason why discipline is important, which absolutely does not mean shutting yourself completely from those things
      - tonyedgecombe 7y ago
        Yet that just doesn't work for many (most?) people. Even for those that claim it does I'm sceptical. I work at home for myself, every morning I sit at my desk and start coding. I could claim I'm disciplined however it seems far more likely to me that I just built a habit of coding in the mornings.
        raverbashing 7y ago
        I agree, there are a lot of people who have difficulties handling it (and a lot of crappy advice)
- manigandham 7y ago
  Isn’t setting your environment an act of discipline in itself?
  - gexla 7y ago
fasicle 7y ago
I second David Goggins’ book “Can’t Hurt Me”, inspirational read.
- playing_colours 7y ago
  I found the parts where he describes his inner fights very valuable. It raised my awareness of those fights in my brain under discomfort / suffering. I am trying to both reflect on and fight those thoughts.
joncrane 7y ago
I agree 100%. This is going to sound weird, but bear with me. I grew up as a skateboarder and am still super into the scene. What separates the pros from the wannabes isn't just talent. It's dealing with adversity, discomfort, and inconvenience. These pros are skating in places that are not comfortable to skate. The ground is very rough and/or has inconveniently placed cracks. There's a puddle in the way. The ground is dirty with tiny pebbles. They also fall A LOT. By the time they make this crazy trick, they're bleeding from a couple of places and half their board has gotten wet with yucky water. The kind of things that mean "end of the session" for 90% of skaters. The skaters that can deal with these inconveniences/discomfort are the ones that "make it." Sometimes young skaters to go to famous spots and they are blown away by how rough the ground is, or how close traffic is zipping by at 40 MPH. THAT's what separates the men from the boys. Grit.
- Timpy 7y ago
  My first taste of grit was on a skateboard too. I would daydream about landing cool new tricks far outside my skill level. I was young, I didn't really know how to acquire new skills, I just repeatedly made the decision to try again every time got it wrong. Eventually I looked back and realized I had surpassed those old daydreams. I consider myself really lucky to stumble across this at such a young age, the discovery that discipline pays off. I used it when I learned to play music and taught myself programming. The only tasks that excite me in my current phase of life are long term grit-required projects, like language learning, distance running, etc.
- MrMember 7y ago
  I really enjoyed Rodney Mullen's autobiography. He talked about how when he was a kid he would get home from school and skateboard for six hours. Every single day. Trying new things, inventing tricks that nobody else could do. And then he'd go to competitions and completely dominate because he was doing things nobody had ever seen before. That's the dedication it takes to be a pro.
- hinkley 7y ago
  Phil Liggett, The Voice of the Tour de France for decades and decades, is fond of complementing cyclists by saying they "know how to suffer." It is, as near as I can tell, his highest complement to say that you really know how to suffer.

gexla 7y ago

Self discipline is one of the psychology things which might not actually be a thing though. Often cited in this sort of discussion is the "marshmallow test" which has been found to be BS. Maybe there's something to willpower, but the discussion is stinky right now because of the replication issues. Same for "flow" which is another smell this article and related discussions have. I find that I can be incredibly self disciplined when I setup my environment so that I don't have to fight myself. How do I fight distractions from my phone when I'm out with friends? I don't bring my phone. And yet somehow I always manage to meet with people at the time and place we decide on. I know not everyone can do this, I'm just using it as an example. A feeling of a lack of self discipline is a symptom, much like procrastination. It's a mess of things all clumped together like a rats nest of wires. Everyone has their answer to procrastination (the book is in progress!) but beating procrastination isn't a skill because it isn't the root problem. Much like a headache could mean that you are going to die from cancer or you might just need some rest. If you feel you have procrastination problems, it's because something broke upstream and now you are blaming it on procrastination. ETA: Herding my own actions is about preparation and personal story telling. If I setup a clear path for the next day and get good sleep, then it will work. If I get a bad night of sleep and I'm unorganized, then it's going to be a disaster and I'm going to complain about procrastination. If I see a cake which looks good and I have a weak reason not to eat it, I'm going to eat the thing. If I manage to convince myself to join the cult of low-carbs, then I wouldn't be caught dead with a piece of cake. If I'm working with people who are laid back, then I become laid back. If I'm working with people who are ultra-competitive, then I become competitive. It's all about pouring the kool-aid and then convincing myself to drink it. ;)

raverbashing 7y ago
I think you summed it up pretty nicely, I might have even used the same words. But in a sense, procrastination is "natural" as much as the taste of sugar is natural, but if you allow yourself to be carried out by it then it becomes a problem.
- tonyedgecombe 7y ago
  Which wouldn't be a problem if sugar was still scarce. It's the abundance of food and distractions which messes us up.
  - raverbashing 7y ago
    Correct, that's the reason why discipline is important, which absolutely does not mean shutting yourself completely from those things
    - tonyedgecombe 7y ago
      Yet that just doesn't work for many (most?) people. Even for those that claim it does I'm sceptical. I work at home for myself, every morning I sit at my desk and start coding. I could claim I'm disciplined however it seems far more likely to me that I just built a habit of coding in the mornings.
      - raverbashing 7y ago
        I agree, there are a lot of people who have difficulties handling it (and a lot of crappy advice)
manigandham 7y ago
Isn’t setting your environment an act of discipline in itself?
- gexla 7y ago

fasicle 7y ago

I second David Goggins’ book “Can’t Hurt Me”, inspirational read.

playing_colours 7y ago
I found the parts where he describes his inner fights very valuable. It raised my awareness of those fights in my brain under discomfort / suffering. I am trying to both reflect on and fight those thoughts.

joncrane 7y ago

I agree 100%. This is going to sound weird, but bear with me. I grew up as a skateboarder and am still super into the scene. What separates the pros from the wannabes isn't just talent. It's dealing with adversity, discomfort, and inconvenience. These pros are skating in places that are not comfortable to skate. The ground is very rough and/or has inconveniently placed cracks. There's a puddle in the way. The ground is dirty with tiny pebbles. They also fall A LOT. By the time they make this crazy trick, they're bleeding from a couple of places and half their board has gotten wet with yucky water. The kind of things that mean "end of the session" for 90% of skaters. The skaters that can deal with these inconveniences/discomfort are the ones that "make it." Sometimes young skaters to go to famous spots and they are blown away by how rough the ground is, or how close traffic is zipping by at 40 MPH. THAT's what separates the men from the boys. Grit.

Timpy 7y ago
My first taste of grit was on a skateboard too. I would daydream about landing cool new tricks far outside my skill level. I was young, I didn't really know how to acquire new skills, I just repeatedly made the decision to try again every time got it wrong. Eventually I looked back and realized I had surpassed those old daydreams. I consider myself really lucky to stumble across this at such a young age, the discovery that discipline pays off. I used it when I learned to play music and taught myself programming. The only tasks that excite me in my current phase of life are long term grit-required projects, like language learning, distance running, etc.
MrMember 7y ago
I really enjoyed Rodney Mullen's autobiography. He talked about how when he was a kid he would get home from school and skateboard for six hours. Every single day. Trying new things, inventing tricks that nobody else could do. And then he'd go to competitions and completely dominate because he was doing things nobody had ever seen before. That's the dedication it takes to be a pro.
hinkley 7y ago
Phil Liggett, The Voice of the Tour de France for decades and decades, is fond of complementing cyclists by saying they "know how to suffer." It is, as near as I can tell, his highest complement to say that you really know how to suffer.