On another thread someone quoted a book written by the guy in the video in the OP. Below is the quote and my response from that thread, slightly updated.
@Boosh32 Posted:
Retired US Navy SEAL commander Jocko Willink wrote in the book "Extreme Ownership: How US Navy SEALs Lead and Win," which he cowrote with his former platoon commander Leif Babin.
Discipline starts every day when the first alarm clock goes off in the morning," he writes. "I say 'first alarm clock' because I have three, as I was taught by one of the most feared and respected instructors in SEAL training: one electric, one battery powered, one windup. That way, there is no excuse for not getting out of bed, especially with all that rests on that decisive moment.
He explains:
The moment the alarm goes off is the first test; it sets the tone for the rest of the day. The test is not a complex one: when the alarm goes off, do you get up out of bed, or do you lie there in comfort and fall back to sleep? If you have the discipline to get out of bed, you win — you pass the test. If you are mentally weak for that moment and you let that weakness keep you in bed, you fail. Though it seems small, that weakness translates to more significant decisions. But if you exercise discipline, that too translates to more substantial elements of your life ...
@Steve W. Posted:
One of my life rules is: "Set the alarm for the time you want to get up and get up when it rings. The snooze button does not exist."
I don't consider this a matter of discipline but of practicality and logic. Why would I want to wake myself prematurely out of a sound sleep if I'm not going to get up? I wouldn't ask my wife, "Honey, I don't have to be up until x:00, but could you make a loud noise and wake me half an hour earlier? Then could you do it again nine minutes later -- and then every nine minutes a few times in a row after that?"
I get up at 3:50 every workday and I don't get enough sleep (I have no trouble falling asleep, but rarely get around to going to bed before 11pm).
I also don't consider this a matter of discipline or a point of pride. I have to be at work early, don't like to feel rushed, and like some quiet time to shower, dress, walk the dog, make and eat breakfast, have coffee, read the newspaper, do the breakfast dishes, and mentally prepare for my day.
By itself, I would never say I only NEED this little sleep. But all things considered, it's a reasonable, albeit imperfect, compromise for me, and I've been doing it for over a decade. I also have two months out of the year when I get up between 6 and 8am and can get 7 or 8 hours most nights.
Maybe some would consider this discipline, but I look at it as doing things the way I prefer (as opposed to discipline being forcing yourself to do something you would prefer not to do).
There's definitely a tension between getting the maximum amount of sleep possible, which has many benefits, and waking up earlier than you absolutely need to in order to carve out a little extra time each day where there generally aren't a lot of other demands.
But I don't think there is any moral dimension to waking up in the morning. I would not like to live my life with the mindset that every moment and decision is a test that I have to pass by forcing myself to make the less pleasant choice.
BTW, I never train early in the morning (just personal preference).