I try my best to be extremely disciplined about my diet.

When Mika Brzezinski said, “I try my best to be extremely disciplined about my diet,” she was not merely speaking about food, but about mastery of the self. These words, though modest in tone, carry the spirit of an ancient truth: that discipline is the foundation of freedom, and that to govern one’s appetite is to begin the lifelong journey of governing one’s soul. Her statement is simple, yet beneath it lies a profound recognition—that the act of control, repeated daily, refines not only the body but the mind and the will that commands it.

To be “disciplined about one’s diet” is to practice one of the oldest virtues known to humankind: temperance. The ancients called it sophrosyne, the harmony between desire and reason. In the temples of old Greece, temperance was revered as one of the four cardinal virtues—the pillars upon which a noble life was built. It was said that those who could not master the hunger of the flesh could never master the passions of the heart. Brzezinski’s commitment to discipline echoes this eternal wisdom. Her words remind us that diet, though a modern preoccupation, is also a mirror reflecting how we live, how we choose, and how we face the quiet temptations of comfort and convenience.

Yet, her tone is human—“I try my best.” In that humility lies another truth: that discipline is not perfection, but persistence. Even the strongest stumble, but the disciplined rise again, renewed in purpose. The Roman Stoic Seneca wrote that “most powerful is he who has himself in his own power.” Brzezinski’s confession of effort, not triumph, embodies this same principle. Discipline is not born in moments of ease, but in moments of conflict—the daily decision between indulgence and intention, between impulse and insight. The beauty of her statement lies not in her success, but in her commitment to try, again and again.

The ancients often linked the care of the body to the care of the spirit. Plato taught that the body is the instrument of the soul, and that neglect of one leads to the weakening of the other. Likewise, to eat without thought is to live without awareness—to consume not only food but distraction and disorder. Brzezinski’s devotion to mindful nourishment is a reflection of the same discipline that guided monks in their fasts, soldiers in their training, and philosophers in their simplicity. Her words, then, are not about dieting in the modern sense of vanity, but about living with purpose, about reclaiming the will from chaos.

There is a story told of Pythagoras, the philosopher who trained his disciples to live by strict order and moderation. When one student complained that the rules were too severe, Pythagoras said, “Would you have me train your body, but leave your soul untrained?” For the wise understand that order in one part of life creates strength in all others. To be disciplined in diet is not just to feed the body correctly—it is to practice self-respect, to cultivate the inner strength that resists the seductions of excess, and to honor the vessel through which the mind expresses its purpose.

But there is also compassion in discipline. Brzezinski’s phrasing—“I try my best”—invites gentleness alongside rigor. The ancients knew that the art of balance must also apply to the self. Discipline, when too harsh, becomes tyranny; when too lax, it becomes weakness. The true path lies between—firm, but kind; consistent, but forgiving. The disciplined person does not punish themselves for imperfection, but rather learns from it, returning always to the path with renewed understanding.

So, let the lesson of Mika Brzezinski’s words be carried forward as wisdom for all generations: that to live with discipline is to live with awareness, to make each choice a reflection of one’s higher self. In a world that glorifies indulgence, discipline is rebellion; in a time of noise, it is clarity. Begin small—choose wisely what nourishes you, both in food and in thought. Let each meal be an act of mindfulness, each refusal a declaration of strength. For the one who masters their appetite masters their destiny, and the one who lives with discipline will walk through life not as a prisoner of desire, but as a keeper of their own freedom.