Business Buddhism

You know someone who is exceptionally self-disciplined, say in a sport. They are following a gruesome regimen of training and races. When they speak about their harsh discipline, they are full of pride and self-worth.

They don’t seem happy and full of content though. Rather, they are so hard on themselves that there appears to be a degree of self-loathing. They might even sound addicted to the routine of training and accomplishment.

Self-discipline is necessary for self-love, but it is not sufficient.

If you are hard on yourself – pushing your physical limits by not sleeping enough or otherwise hurting your body – pause! Why are you hard on yourself?

An adaption of Monthy Python’s Four Yorkshiremen might go like this:
“I only slept 5h last night!”
“You lucky bastard. This morning, I got up an hour before I went to bed, ran 20 miles, brought the kids to school, finished my work and now have two more days of work to do in the next hour.”

The original: