how to become properly ascetic

[Viking]

I recently watched Leo's latest vid on things going full circle and the part about hedonism vs asceticism just blew my mind. I realize I sometimes allow myself to be a little hedonistic and I usually feel bad after it, but I mask it as something good because of the label I put on it.

So my question is how far should one go about being ascetic in order to have the best results, after all, not everything is practical, im not gonna go live in a cave right now. so for example I allow myself to watch random youtube videos for enjoyment purely, to eat rarely sugary foods, to procrastinate and so on. I realize that stuff doesnt benefit me much but the positive label on them is very strong. when I think about eating a doughnut for example my mind is just rushed with dopamine and tells me its good, though after the doughnut I feel a bit uncomfortable in the stomach. 

should I just cold turkey cut out all of that stuff? due to my personality if I really decide to do something its pretty easy to keep up with it so I wont suffer much dropping everything at once.

I notice that I allow myself all of that stuff because I have a belief that comes from my parents that at least a little bit of comfort is necessary, without it people just suffer, thats my belief. To what extent is that belief true? is it true at all? to what areas of life is it proper to apply asceticism and to what areas is it not? for example doing stuff you really enjoy like life purpose I guess you shouldnt deny the pleasure from.

[Joseph Maynor]

Cut out all the bullshit from your life and you will be an ascetic.  No fluff.  Stay lean and hard.  Relish testing your strength too by going with less sometimes.  Be very anal about what you eat and how you supplement and how you account for your stuff and spend your money.  Basically, the more aware you become, the more you will naturally become an ascetic.  But, you won't be an ideological ascetic.  You'll still eat ice cream or drink on occasion, etc.  Your asceticism is not ideological, it’s habitual.  And the habit is caused by just making better decisions overall in your life.  So, my advice to you is figure out which pillars in personal development you want to work on, identify some goals, break those down into budding habits, get the routines wired.  When you do this for a while, you will naturally become healthier, and thus a habitual -- although non-ideological -- ascetic.  So, don't try to become an ideological ascetic.  That puts the cart before the horse, and it's a trap.

Edited December 17, 2017 by Joseph Maynor

[Viking]

@Joseph Maynor great answer, you helped me a lot, but one thing I dont understand, why being an ideological ascetic is a trap? dont buddhist monks and the such do this all the time?

[DnoReally]

Are there any good books on asceticism? Biographies of ascetics etc?

[Faceless]

Self denial, self mortification, sounds rather unececary to me. 

 

[philosogi]

@DnoReally Empty Cloud - The Autobiography of Xu Yun [pdf]