Staying motivated and working on achieving our goals is not always easy and, at times, it’s necessary to find something or someone to push us. Well, is there anyone better to teach discipline and hard work than a decorated military leader? When I’m feeling lazy or unmotivated, I like to read Jocko Willink quotes to pump myself up.
A retired Navy SEAL, Jocko Willink served two tours in Iraq. An exceptional soldier and leader, Willink was decorated with the Silver Star and the Bronze Star for his heroic actions. Inspired by his war experience, he has published several books about discipline, leadership, and success, and became one of the most popular motivational speakers and writers.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the best Jocko Willink quotes.
31 Jocko Willink Quotes to Make You Successful and Tougher
Best Jocko Willink Quotes About Achieving Success
#1. “Prioritize your problems and take care of them one at a time, the highest priority first. Don’t try to do everything at once or you won’t be successful.”
#2. “You have to BE VIGILANT. You have to be ON GUARD. You have to HOLD THE LINE on the seemingly insignificant little things — things that shouldn’t matter — but that do.”
#3. “When setting expectations, no matter what has been said or written, if substandard performance is accepted and no one is held accountable — if there are no consequences — that poor performance becomes the new standard.”
#4. “Faster. Stronger. Smarter. More humble. Less ego.”
#5. “It’s not what you preach, it’s what you tolerate.”
#6. “In the business world, and in life, there are inherent complexities. It is critical to keep plans and communication simple.”
#7. “A person’s strengths are also often their biggest weaknesses.”
#8. “The test is not a complex one: when the alarm goes off, do you get up out of bed, or do you lie there in comfort and fall back to sleep? If you have the discipline to get out of bed, you win — you pass the test. If you are mentally weak for that moment and you let that weakness keep you in bed, you fail. Though it seems small, that weakness translates to more significant decisions. But if you exercise discipline, that too translates to more substantial elements of your life.”
Jocko Willink Quotes About Discipline
#9. “Discipline is your best friend. It will take care of you like nothing else can.”
#10. “Discipline equals freedom.”
#11. “Don’t expect to be motivated every day to get out there and make things happen. You won’t be. Don’t count on motivation. Count on discipline.”
#12. “Although discipline demands control and asceticism, it actually results in freedom. When you have the discipline to get up early, you are rewarded with more free time.”
#13. “There is only hard work, late nights, early mornings, practice, rehearsal, repetition, study, sweat, blood, toil, frustration, and discipline.”
Jocko Willink Quotes to Motivate You
#14. “Most things that never get done never get done because they never get started.”
#15. “Don’t let your mind control you. Control your mind.”
#16. “Stop researching every aspect of it and reading all about it and debating the pros and cons of it … Start doing it.”
#17. “Instead of letting the situation dictate our decisions, we must dictate the situation.”
#18. “You don’t “find” time to do what is important. You MAKE TIME. GO!”
#19. “You’re not going to find happiness. You have to make it. So get out there and make some happiness.”
#20. “Unless you do the work, the world will never see your vision.”
#21. “The idea isn’t going to execute itself. You have to do and do it now.”
#22. “Your life is like a story. You’re writing it. And you don’t know how long the story is. You don’t know how many chapters you’re gonna get. So I would say go ahead and fill ’em up.”
#23. “The better you understand yourself, the better you’ll become. You’ll be better. You’ll do better.”
Jocko Willink Quotes to Help You Deal With Stress
#24. “If the stress is something you can’t control: embrace it. You can’t control it but — how can you look at it from a different angle? How can you use it to your advantage? I couldn’t control the chaos of combat. I had to embrace it. I had to figure out a way to take advantage of it. Make it into your ally.”
#25. “Don’t fight stress. Embrace it. Turn it on itself. Use it to make yourself sharper and more alert. Use it to make you think and learn and get better and smarter and more effective. Use the stress to make you a better you.”
#26. “Humans can withstand almost inconceivable stress — and you can too. So that is your first step: gain perspective. And to do that you must do something critical in many situations: detach. Whatever problems or stress you are experiencing, detach from them. Stress is generally caused by what you can’t control.”
Jocko Willink Quotes to Keep You Going
#27. “Because emotion and logic will both reach their limitations. And when one fails, you need to rely on the other. When it just doesn’t make any logical sense to go on, that’s when you use your emotion, your anger, your frustration, your fear, to push further, to push you to say one thing: I don’t stop.”
#28. “NO MORE. No more excuses. No more: “I’ll start tomorrow.” No more: “Just this once.” No more accepting the shortfalls of my own will. No more taking the easy road. No more bowing down to whatever unhealthy or unproductive thoughts float through my mind.”
#29. “That’s it. When things are going bad: Don’t get all bummed out, don’t get startled, don’t get frustrated. No. Just look at the issue and say — good.”
#30. “Do not take the easy way out. Do not give up based on instinct. Take the step. Step aggressively toward your fear.”
#31. “When things are going bad, there’s going to be some good that comes from it.”
Conclusion
As you can see, Jocko Willink believes in work ethics, discipline, and persistence. Many people have benefited from his wise words, and so can you. Hopefully, these Jocko Willink quotes will inspire you and push you to chase your dreams.
image source: cnbc
