Discipline is the secret of happiness

Your mind instructs you to seek happiness through instincts. It instructs you to seek stimuli which make you happy and avoid stimuli which make you unhappy. But following your instincts can be problematic. Instincts get you unsustainable happiness. The joy of eating a tasty meal will only last till the last bite. Instincts make you sacrifice long term happiness for short term happiness. You will overeat a tasty meal even if you know it is not good for your health.

Instincts affect your reasoning.

You will be able to manufacture perfectly valid reasons to skip exercise when feeling lazy in the morning. Following your instincts blindly will make you unhappy in the long run. It is best to evaluate them rationally before acting on them. Unfortunately, instincts overwhelm you through emotions. Once emotions overwhelm you, it is difficult to act against instincts even if you want to.

Fortunately, you can use your body.

You always have the ability to move your body in spite of your instincts. You can push yourself to get out of bed even if your instinct is to sleep. Instincts start losing their power once you take action against them using your body. You can cultivate your ability to push yourself against instincts by being disciplined. By being disciplined, you consistently take action against harmful instincts in all aspects of your life. You get sustainable long term happiness in return.