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Daily Inspiration Quote by Jocko Willink

"If you want to be better, get after it"

About this Quote

No hand-holding, no mysticism, no spreadsheeted self-optimization: just a blunt command to move. Jocko Willink's "If you want to be better, get after it" is less motivational poster than battlefield shorthand. The intent is disciplinary, not inspirational. It takes the vague, comforting wish to improve and forces it into the only currency Willink trusts: action under pressure.

The subtext is an argument about agency. "If you want" sounds permissive, even soft, but it's a trapdoor. Desire becomes a test: if you truly want change, you will accept discomfort, routine, and the daily indignities of starting before you're ready. "Better" stays deliberately unspecific because the point isn't a single goal; it's a posture toward effort. That ambiguity is strategic: it lets the listener project their own standard while removing excuses about the "right" plan.

Context matters. Willink comes out of a military culture where outcomes aren't just personal branding; they're tied to team survival, competence, and accountability. "Get after it" is the language of urgency and ownership, the kind used when there's no time for theory and no tolerance for self-pity. In civilian life, that voice sells because it cuts through a crowded marketplace of curated wellness and algorithmic productivity hacks. The quote works by stripping improvement of romance. It treats progress as something earned through repeated, unglamorous aggression toward the task - and it dares you to prove you mean it.

Quote Details

TopicMotivational
SourceBook: Discipline Equals Freedom: Field Manual (2017)
Cite

Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Willink, Jocko. (2026, January 24). If you want to be better, get after it. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-you-want-to-be-better-get-after-it-184087/

Chicago Style
Willink, Jocko. "If you want to be better, get after it." FixQuotes. January 24, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-you-want-to-be-better-get-after-it-184087/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"If you want to be better, get after it." FixQuotes, 24 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-you-want-to-be-better-get-after-it-184087/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.

More Quotes by Jocko Add to List
Get After It: Jocko Willink on Discipline and Action
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About the Author

Jocko Willink

Jocko Willink (born September 8, 1971) is a Soldier from USA.

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