#discipline

No man is free who is not master of himself.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

When we are hindered, or disturbed, or grieved, let us never attribute it to others, but to ourselves; that is, to our own principles.

Practice yourself, for heaven's sake, in little things; and thence proceed to greater.

Every habit and faculty is maintained and increased by the corresponding actions: the habit of walking by walking, the habit of running by running.

Let whatever appears to you to be best be to you an inviolable law.

When he is impeded or hindered, he blames only himself.

In one word, he keeps watch over himself as over an enemy and an intriguer.

The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.

Can you be your own judge and the avenger of your own law? Terrible is it to be alone with the judge and the avenger of one's own law.

He who cannot command himself should obey. And many a one can command himself, but still lacks much of self-obedience!

Ten times a day must thou overcome thyself: that imparteth a fine fatigue, and is poppy-juice to the soul.

There is no contradiction between spontaneous freedom and disciplined skill; they are the two sides of the same coin.

Do not compare yourself to others. Compare yourself to the person you were yesterday.

The first and greatest victory is to conquer oneself; to be conquered by one's own weakness is of all things most shameful.

Wisdom begins with self-discipline; an undisciplined mind is blown about by every passing wind of appetite.

Other men live to eat, while I eat only to live.

No citizen has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical and mental training; what a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without seeing the strength and beauty of which his body and mind are capable.

A life of mere sensual indulgence makes human beings slavish in their tastes, preferring the life of grazing cattle.

Excellence is an art won by training and habituation.

Without virtue, man is the most unholy and the most savage of animals, and the most full of lust and gluttony.

The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.

He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.

Keep the faculty of effort alive in you by a little gratuitous exercise every day.

Be systematically ascetic or heroic in little unnecessary points; do every day or two something for no other reason than that you would rather not do it.

Never suffer an exception to occur till the new habit is securely rooted in your life.

Each lapse is like the letting fall of a ball of string which one is carefully winding up; a single slip undoes more than a great many turns will wind again.

A mind that cannot hold an idea steadily before itself is at the mercy of every transient impulse.

Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life; think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.

No one succeeds without effort... Mind control is not your birthright. Those who have succeeded owe their success to perseverance.