Difference Between Willpower & Discipline | Ido Portal & Dr. Andrew Huberman

Will vs Discipline

00:00willpower, the expression of the will and then discipline. Maybe we can define the difference a little bit more so that I can understand when I'm in discipline mode versus um exposing willpower. You said you can build discipline, you can't build the will.

00:20The will is a is a fixed unit but a hidden one, a very elusive one. [snorts] uh we can discuss it more and we will expose some things but we will not be successful in a binary fashion. We won't get it. The only way to get even a critical mess with that concept is self practice looking for that quality in your life.

00:45And I already mentioned that the first requirement is to do things you don't want to do which you're also a big believer in from a variety of reasons. All of them are not as important as this because they go to serve this layer, this corrupted self, this success in this area.

01:06This is not important. What is important is you not all those things. And will is actually that representation of you. The totality, the harmonious combination of all that you are comes together and hence you can be reliable. You have a sequence.

01:25You found a way. You cannot push this

How to Practice Your Will

01:33forward. You cannot force this. So you need first a situation which you cannot you don't want to do. So I tell people here is the first requirement of this new practice practice of will. You have to wait for a moment. You don't want to do the task.

01:48That's the first thing. Not to go to the ice bath. Now, this is a different process and will get you somewhere else. Come up with a task that only sometimes you don't want to do. It's a crucial difference and wait for that moment. In that moment, catch yourself.

02:10And there you have to investigate. There there is a very fine little game. It comes back to that playfulness that we have to play. Do not force into it. Don't jailbreak it. Don't push hard into it. Second problem, do not motivate yourself to do it.

02:30Don't put any YouTube clips. Don't mention slogans.

Importance of Relaxation

02:37Relax yourself. Essential component. Do not rigidify in front of the task. If you do, lower the bar. Find the task that has this right dosage and build up gradually and slowly. I like to use things like difficult physical postures. Like holding your arms out for 5 minutes, it's enough.

02:59Just straight arms out. Some people can take it further or three minutes or doing a horse stance and then wait for a critical moment when I'm tired. A lot of these things are very useful. So I've grown to practice those things before I at the end of the day when I'm checking out that is the moment where I bring it about.

03:22And then you have to research and you have to find a thread, a way to get this going again and again and again with this gentle quality, this playfulness, this softness and slowly increase the bar. What will you discover? Your will is sufficient is like a mosquito's fart.

03:46That's the power of our will. Even incredibly powerful people because they only use discipline. So their will is totally they don't know how to identify it. They don't know how to put it together. So you got to do stuff that is so easy relatively easy that you're not interested in doing it.

04:03And that's why we don't develop will. So these are some of the discoveries that I I had with myself and trying to bring about this quality because like you I did a lot of stuff with powering through. I think the value of a physical practice um is probably obvious to people or more intuitive like okay um for some people ex exercise working out movement practice perhaps there'll be days when they want to do it there'll be days when they don't want to do it if I understand

Navigating the Resistance Edge

04:35correctly the idea is to get right up to that edge and then instead of throwing oneself across that threshold or getting enough caffeine in yourself to get across cross that threshold or doing hyper cyclic hyperventilation, breathing to get all the things to kick up adrenaline.

04:52You're talking about getting right there, relaxing and almost letting yourself sort of drift across, but am I pushing a little bit? Am I giving myself a nudge like to keep going? Okay. So, I don't expect myself to just default into it. Okay.

05:09Do you still have to do that? I mean, you've been doing movement practice many years. Are there days when you feel that resistance and you have to kind of nudge yourself? Of course, if I don't feel the resistance, I don't have will. I don't develop will and I don't have will.

05:23The whole point of will is that it only comes to visit and it's only necessary when there is a resistance. So, you see those as opportunities as well. Mhm. As well. But this is this is the trick. But the to answer your question, my answer might be a bit trickier than what most people assume.

05:44They want the remove of the the removal of the problem. And will that's the whole point of will, right? Not to remove the problem and not to also jailbreak it. And you've described it beautifully. And imagine even that clip that you saw or over the last years things that you saw me you see me do, they're not impressive anymore.

06:11[snorts] I can still kick up here and do a one- arm handstand in the center of the room. My body looks different by choice. And how I move is different because I discovered this is not going anywhere. I've already been there. I've already done that.

06:28I've used motivation, discipline, this quality. I'm looking for something much more powerful, but much more gentle as well. So I had to go back to baby steps and to play that game that you you just mentioned beautifully the edge stand at the edge and it has to be an edge.

06:50You're almost not sure if you choose that task whether it's difficult enough or not. It's not the only practice. It's just another flavor that is important for us to practice. I still practice my discipline. And I still practice extremely difficult things.

07:04But it's an important flavor that I missed. Mhm. [clears throat] And I think most people are missing it. They have no interest in doing it. It's too easy. They don't understand the

Developing Internal Reliability

07:17point is not in the task at all. The point is is in the quality that develops, the attribute that develops inside of us, which is one of the most important basic attributes. I want to know when I'm going to war with you, whatever war that is, that you're reliable to have a word.

07:37And that cannot rely on caffeine or on on discipline. And and you can play this game. I'm right now extremely jet-lagged. So I'm I'm very tired. So I play this game with myself. I I have this little internal smile here in my jaw inside. I I I play I pay attention to what is going on in the internal realm, this interceptive thing and I play a game.

08:04Before I used to kind of push against it, harden against it and push through whatever needs to be done. And he saw this way of practicing taught me a lot. [music]