DISCIPLINE EQUALS FREEDOM FIELD MANUAL

Discipline Equals Freedom by Jocko Willink   199 pages

https://slpl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/1399204116

reviewed by Rae C.

This is a great book if you have been reading motivation and self help books and you just want to start doing!  A lot of caveats though, for the average reader.

He's kind of crazy and goes off on some tangents- for example, in the middle of his (excellent) arguments for getting into Jiu jitsu, he goes off on a rant about firearms.

He uses a lot of battle and war metaphors, which can be tiresome. He recommends working out even when you have the flu. And I'd need a whole blog to get into my arguments about the so-called "paleo" diet (our early hominid ancestors were not eating bacon and butter, and fruits predate vegetables and are still a staple for peoples living in undeveloped areas).

He also says things like "some scientists say discipline declines with use" (or something like that).  I can find no evidence on line of any scientists saying this, but perhaps it was something along the lines of "once you do something to the point that it becomes a habit, it's not discipline anymore" which I did find online.

The thing I loved about this book was it was just so direct and kind of like having a Navy Seal screaming at you "Just Go After It!" And "How do you get up early? Set your alarm and get up when it goes off!" And "How do you work out everyday?  You just work out everyday!"

Basically, you begin to feel like you should put the book down and do some burpees and go to bed early.  He's right that a lot of people spend too much time planning and not enough time just doing. 

Recommended for anyone in a slump that can handle the white typeface on black pages, and the excessively macho and somewhat disturbing imagery.

Ignore It!

Ignore It! by Catherine Pearlman, 256 pages

“This book teaches frustrated, stressed-out parents that selectively ignoring certain behaviors can actually inspire positive changes in their kids.  With all the whining, complaining, begging, and negotiating, parenting can seem more like a chore than a pleasure. Dr. Catherine Pearlman, syndicated columnist and one of America's leading parenting experts, has a simple yet revolutionary solution: Ignore It!  Dr. Pearlman's four-step process returns the joy to child rearing. Combining highly effective strategies with time-tested approaches, she teaches parents when to selectively look the other way to withdraw reinforcement for undesirable behaviors. Too often we find ourselves bargaining, debating, arguing and pleading with kids. Instead of improved behavior parents are ensuring that the behavior will not only continue but often get worse. When children receive no attention or reward for misbehavior, they realize their ways of acting are ineffective and cease doing it. Using proven strategies supported by research, this book shows parents how to: - Avoid engaging in a power struggle - Stop using attention as a reward for misbehavior - Use effective behavior modification techniques to diminish and often eliminate problem behaviors Overflowing with wisdom, tips, scenarios, frequently asked questions, and a lot of encouragement, Ignore It! is the parenting program that promises to return bliss to the lives of exasperated parents.”  This was interesting.  I can definitely see how the technique would work with kids and I’d be curious to know how well it worked if anyone I knew personally was using it with their kids.