Three years ago, I had the pleasure of reading a book that changed my perspective on life’s struggles and how to overcome most of them. It laid out the foundation for one becoming a strategic warrior in their lives. Composed of a few principles mostly derived from Army generals, their application has fundamentally changed the way I handle my personal struggles. They have also given me a road map to get out of a rut quicker.
We all experience challenges in different areas of our lives. Most of these times many of us find it extremely difficult to move forward from our struggle. Sometimes, we even choose to run away from these challenges rather than accepting and dealing with them. To become a strategic warrior in your daily life, here are the various ideas you must consider:
1. Perceive things as they are, not based on current emotion
In many cases, our daily lives are led by emotion. The decisions we make every day are based on our feelings, whether, sad, happy, frustrated bored, or angry. The hobbies and activities we indulge in are based on the emotions they provoke. It is critical that we perceive emotional reactions to events as an ailment that needs a cure.
All emotions, including love, fear, overconfidence, or even anger can lead you to make decisions that bring undesired outcomes. Love may hinder you from discerning deceitful intentions. While the danger you face may be amplified by fear, overconfidence may lead you to go overboard.
To overcome the tendency of being led by emotion, one has to be cognizant of its pull. You have to recognize when it is taking place and stabilize it. This way, you will not act irrationally when angry, you will not over-amplify possible hazards you face, or go overboard due to overconfidence.
2. Judge people by their actions.
There are not enough words a general can use to explain away failure in battle. War leaders are generally judged by the outcome of the war. If they are defeated, that remains how history will remember them. You have to apply this philosophy in your everyday life: to judge people based on the outcomes of their actions.
Actions are visible. Often, people say one thing but do the other. It is easier for a person to lie with their words. But not with their actions. In applying this viewpoint in your life, you must reflect on your failures and contemplate what you might have done differently. Your own poor decisions are the cause of your defeats.
Each person is responsible for all that happens in their lives, good or bad. Consider the things people do with the objective of gaining an advantage over you. They may attempt to make you feel guilty or fault you for being unfair, but really, they are only trying to obtain a conquest.
3. Depend on your mind
We all tend to rely on material things and the resources around us, whether wealth, technology, or friends. These are things that often make humans feel successful due to the advantages and benefits that accompany them.
However true success does not amount to material wealth or mechanical advantages. True wealth is all about the power of the mind. A rich person can lose all their wealth and technological devices can be outdated. Friends may desert you while resources may be taken from you. But when you have the power of the mind, your intelligence can help you rise again. You can find solutions to your problems.
Your mind is your best ally in times of crisis. It is the ultimate weapon as you become a strategic warrior in your everyday life. As a wise man said, true power lies within yourself.
4. Look at the long term strategy
Strategy and tactics are two different things in war. While strategy involves leading the whole operation, tactics are all about the expertise of structuring the soldiers for the battle. It involves responding to current needs in the battleground.
Most individuals think that they are strategists when really, we are only tacticians. We lay focus on the current problems and how to solve them. We forget to think about the end goal. To win the war in life, you have to become a strategist. Let your long-term objectives become the force that drives you. Besides simplifying your daily tactical decision-making, this will help you become more rational and logical.
Being tactical and only focusing on the activities you have in the short term leaves your feet heavy and you often get stuck. But when you become a strategist, you are flexible and can see the bigger picture. The minds of strategists are constantly on the move. They are forever eager and curious. They don’t dwell on the past. They speedily forget it. For them, the present is fascinating, but the future, which they find exhilarating.
As a strategic warrior, you must remember …
Everybody experiences challenges and struggles in their daily life. That is the nature of life. But the real battle lies within. That is what a strategic warrior rises to. For you to achieve anything, you have to pronounce never-ending warfare on yourself.
You will then achieve the experience and confidence you desire and even improve your skills by welcoming war and conflict in your life. It will help you prove yourself and sharpen your skills.
When you acquire the warrior spirit, you will welcome more battles and challenges. You will not suppress your doubts and fears. Instead, you will face them head-on.
