It takes discipline to be a modern human

I have no nostalgia for the past - this is objectively the greatest time to be alive.

The last few decades are the first time in known history where the leading cause of death isn’t famine, disease, or war.

Instead, the modern human is more likely to die from obesity, addiction, or suicide.

Mankind’s basic needs are largely met and now our struggles are ones of abundance.

For that reason, I believe, it takes a special discipline to be a modern human.

In the majority of countries around the world, it is a more valuable skill that you have conquered your own psychology enough to resist the sugar and processed foods that tempt you on every aisle of the supermarket than it is that you be able to hunt or grow your own food.

Marketers do everything they can to convince you into buying things you don’t need. Chemists do everything they can to make their products more enjoyable. And society at large has created a vortex of anxiety through meaningless professions and increasing ambiguity.

So again, it takes discipline.

And discipline means mastering your own human psychology.

We all know objectively what we should do: eat real foods, be active, and pursue what’s meaningful to us.

But we all struggle to do that.

So, mastering your psychology means to first figure out when and why you stray from good decisions into bad decisions.

Once you know that, then set up habits and routines to avoid the bad.

Easy to say, difficult to execute.