Mindset & discipline
Everything else on this site, from SAS preparation to ultras and fight camps, rests on the same unglamorous habits. These essays are the thinking behind them: how routines get built, why they break, and how to keep going through the boring middle.
Build the ordinary week
Read the monotony essay first, then the pieces about waking, habits and disruption.
See where the habits are tested
Personal application and sporting experiences, not clinical or military qualifications.
Start here
If you read one essay, read The Monotony of Life. It is the most honest thing I've written about why repetition, not intensity, is what changes people. Then read Lion Mentality for the mindset and Stop Talking About Yourself for how it shows up in conversation.
Routines and early mornings
I've written about waking at 4:30am, getting up early without waking a partner, and what happens when a routine gets disrupted. The pattern across all of them: make the habit small enough to survive bad weeks.
Where the discipline gets tested
Mindset is easy to write about and hard to prove. The proof is in the other sections: my 21 SAS reserve application, the marathons and ultras, and Muay Thai training abroad.
Reader questions
- Do I need an extreme challenge to build discipline?
- No. The essays are about repeatable habits and ordinary weeks. Races and training provide settings for my own experience, not a requirement for anyone else.
The published stories
The Monotony of Life and Its Boring Routines
What It's Like to Wake Up at 4:30 AM?
How to Wake Up Early and Not Be Miserable?
How to Wake Up Early Without Disturbing Your Partner?
The Power Of Routine
The Dangers Of Disrupting A Solid Routine
How to Build New Habits and Live Extremely Powerfully?
How To Change Your Habits And Then Change Your Life
How To Build Happy Habits
Having A Lion's Mentality And Grit And Growth Mindset
How to Stop Talking About Yourself & Why It's Important?
Learn Self Discipline From Outwitting The Devil
The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday Book Review & My Reflections
