There is very little benefit in telling people to do something without telling them how. I mean without telling them exactly how. Clear and precise instructions are the prerequisite of good implementation. Without those, success will depend on luck or serendipity.

Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) was aware that morality and happiness depend on self-discipline. Nonetheless, he had witnessed hundreds of times that people will declare their good intentions, and then fail to follow up.

Self-discipline needs to be acquired and then maintained for a lifetime. It is a permanent job that doesn’t allow any holidays, sick leave, or underperformance. If we fail to follow through, bad consequences will ensue.

In his essay “On Vanity,” Montaigne depicted those harmful consequences. Wasted time is the worst of them all because it’s irrecuperable.

Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) constitutes a compelling example of lack of self-discipline. He pushed ahead to conquer a large territory, but didn’t put sufficient effort in consolidating his gains. As a result, the empire fell apart immediately after Alexander’s death.

Michel de Montaigne essay “On Vanity”

[1] Montaigne’s assessment of Alexander’s deficiency leads us to the first lesson. We should strive to make self-discipline all-encompassing. It does not help to be self-disciplined in one area (e.g. military strategy), if we behave chaotically in other areas (e.g. financial and administrative organization).

The principles has universal application. I think that we all have witnessed professionally successful individuals who lack self-discipline in other areas. As a result, they are jeopardising their health, their friendships, their family, etc.

[2] Montaigne then presents his second lesson: the need to stay consistent in our course of action. Self-discipline does not make sense without long-term goals. We need a target, an clear objective, a distinct destination that determines the direction of our daily actions.

Self-discipline is neither self-referential nor self-contained. It requires alignment with our lifetime goals. In the absence of such an alignment, our self-discipline will meander and decay.

Montaigne mentions Seneca (4 BC-AD 65) as illustration of meandering self-discipline. Seneca often said one thing and did another. He went in one direction, but then changed course. He had elevated ideals, but failed to pursue them consistently.

In his “Letters to Lucilius,” Seneca acknowledges his primal error. He laments his inconsistencies and lack of self-discipline which brought about negative consequences. This is a crucial lesson to learn from Seneca, as pointed out by Montaigne.

Montaigne on knowledge for self-discipline

[3] Third, self-discipline requires steady learning coupled to logical thinking. It only works if have built up our knowledge step by step, little by little, so that we are sure of what we are doing.

If we lack self-confidence and self-reliance, there is no way to maintain self-discipline. Our intellectual logic and integrity constitute the prerequisites for our physical self-discipline.

Montaigne points out that Socrates (469-399 BC) had made a public confession of ignorance by announcing that “I only know that I know nothing.” At least, that’s the idea of Socrates conveyed by Plato (427-347 BC).

Socrates’ confession of ignorance cannot help us stay self-disciplined day after day. Plato wanted to portray Socrates as a great philosopher because he had acknowledge his ignorance, but I can only regard Socrates’ statement as vain and conceited.

He obviously knew that he was a great philosopher and his confession of ignorance cannot help us gain the necessary self-discipline to make good decisions and follow them through.

Montaigne on motivation for self-discipline

[4] Fourth, in order to maintain the motivation, the benefits of self-disciplined should be enjoyed daily; there is not need to wait long to enjoy those benefits; they will become apparent as soon as we start to practise self-discipline.

What are those benefits? I am talking about faster results, a lower level of effort to obtain them, fewer errors and conflicts, and lower levels of stress. All in all, those factors help enhance one’s happiness day after day.

Montaigne reminds us that Epicurus (341-270 BC) had said that one should enjoy the benefits of serenity each day. It gives us an immediate payoff for our self-discipline. It renders larger the small pleasures of getting things done on time, for a lower cost, and drawing a more intense enjoyment from them.

Montaigne on self-discipline and effectiveness

[5] Fifth, self-discipline guarantees an optimum use of time and resources. It leads us in the direction of our lifetime goals, and help us steer away from distractions, vanity, arrogance and pointless approval-seeking.

Montaigne warns us against wasting our time in the pursuit of fame and popularity. We should rather concentrate on actual, tangible achievements. Let fame and popularity take care of themselves. We will be better off focusing on valuable goals.

Could Julius Caesar (100-44 BC) have attained higher goals and lived longer if he had not pursued fame and popularity? In all likelihood, he would have spared himself plenty of trouble. Montaigne correctly points out that the search for glory rarely pays off. We should rather concentrate on better objectives.

If we adopt self-discipline as a key virtue, it will help steer our efforts in the right direction. It will enable us automatically to make the best use of our time, keeping us away from vain, pointless undertakings.

Montaigne affirms that self-discipline enables us to tell the difference between important and unimportant actions. We do not need to pursue every opportunity, acquire every asset, and take part in every venture that looks promising. It’s wiser to get focused and work steadily towards our lifetime objectives.

If you want to apply rational ideas to all kind of situations here and now, I recommend you my book titled “Rational living, rational working.”