The More Disciplined, the Happier

Playing games, scrolling through your phone, indeed can bring short-term pleasure. But what happens after? What can you learn from it? What can you retain? Will you regret it? Reflecting on the time when I was tirelessly pursuing certifications, although it was tough, I lived an extremely fulfilling life. The joy that comes after such efforts and the realization of goals are incomparable to anything else.

In fact, so-called money is also a form of resource. Since it’s a resource, there are varying degrees of it. This means that if you want to make yourself valuable, you have to make yourself valuable. This value lies in the resources at your disposal and whether they are valuable. In daily life, your actions determine whether you have competitiveness and scarce resources. If you want to become more competitive, undoubtedly, you have to do things that others find difficult to do, and even if they can, it’s hard for them to persist. Ultimately, if you are disciplined, persistent, and patient, then the more difficult the tasks you undertake, the greater the value you will reap in the future. It can even be said that you will become more valuable as a result.

Refusing cheap thrills

Before making yourself valuable, you must eliminate some cheap habits, or firmly reject some cheap pleasures.

For example, those so-called mindless entertainment, such as games. Nowadays, many young people have a smartphone with a few games downloaded on it. In their spare time, they spend tens of minutes playing a game, getting deeply involved, feeling extremely passionate and satisfied. However, if they lose, they feel dissatisfied and continue to the next round. Even if they win the next round, they tell themselves they’ll log off after one more win. But if they lose that round, they feel dissatisfied and push themselves to win another round. This cycle repeats, and before they know it, several hours have passed. Once addicted, they find the more they play, the more fulfilled and passionate they feel, even convincing themselves that this is what they truly love. Neil Postman said in “Amusing Ourselves to Death”: “What is ruining us is not what we hate, but what we love.” Cheap thrills only lead to a cheap life. We are too easily self-deceived, so much so that in the end, due to our bad habits and pursuit of cheap thrills, we bring ourselves a lot of trouble and pain. However, as long as the temptation persists and you lack the determination to make a change, there won’t be a day of improvement. Dong Yuhui once said, “Cheap thrills give you what you want directly, while higher pleasures will set up obstacles for you.” The beginning of becoming better lies in timely refusal of the cheap thrills that bring temporary pleasure in life. Instead, engage in challenging activities that bring long-term benefits, especially those that contribute to personal growth. If you persist in such activities, you will eventually experience long-term satisfaction and happiness. In the end, you will become more and more motivated to continue and persevere.

The more disciplined, the more valuable

Easily obtained happiness that is fleeting is never sustainable.

Just like those easily satisfied feelings, they are always temporary. Once they pass, you may feel even emptier, even a sense of nothingness. Ultimately, such indulgence only leads to self-destruction. Professor Luo Xiang said, “The happiness of indulgence is not happiness. True happiness comes from striving upwards, walking towards the path that makes you feel the dignity of humanity.” One must learn to reject cheap thrills and increase the cost of happiness as much as possible. This cost involves being patient, expending more energy, and having greater anticipation to create your work and enhance your value. When you focus on doing what you’re currently doing and force yourself to persist, especially when you want to indulge or be lazy, you must compel yourself to continue, even if it’s something you dislike or strongly resist. You must believe that, often, a person can deceive themselves. For example, using an excuse they don’t like as a principle and standard for their actions. As a result, at the slightest discomfort or difficulty, they immediately let go or even give up. Over time, a person becomes more impatient and less responsible for doing what they should. Even crucial matters, things they must overcome, are ignored due to immaturity and selfishness. Such an attitude and style in handling life and work only accumulates more problems and troubles, ultimately dragging their life down.

Restraining desires, moving towards discipline

I really like a metaphor: low-level happiness is like a bright firework, fleeting; high-level happiness is like tranquil deep water, with a profound melody.

Everyone has some weaknesses that seem insurmountable, but it’s clear that a person’s greatest enemy in life is themselves. So, to a certain extent, the reason a person can become stronger is that they can conquer more and more of their weaknesses. When you can control desires that others cannot, you can achieve results and even success that others cannot reach. By restraining your desires, learning to filter them, and then focusing on your goals, moving towards discipline, and always persisting, you truly exert enough effort and sweat, and pay a great price and cost. Eventually, when you grasp the relevant rules and experience personal growth, even feeling a self-transformation, you will be able to see human nature and the world more clearly, and increasingly understand how to restrain your desires, manage your life, and grasp the rhythm of life. This way, you truly move towards independence, success, and gain strength. You, in such a state, will become more disciplined, outstanding, and valuable!