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In this episode of theWarrior Mind Podcast I’m going to discuss how to access your inner warriorarchetype for peak performance.
Access Your Inner Warrior TheWarrior in His Fullness
Moore says that “Thecharacteristics of the Warrior in his fullness amount to a total way of life,what the samurai called a do (pronounced ‘do’). These characteristicsconstitute the Warrior Dharma, Ma’at, or Tao, a spiritual or psychological paththrough life.”
What are thesecharacteristics? Let’s take a look.
Note: While here we use thelanguage of the martial warrior, the characteristics can be applied to anyman’s life mission, whether civilian or true solider.
21stCentury Aspects
HowTo Be A Powerful Warrior
The Warrior is the part ofus which goes out into the world and gets things done – on the orders of theKing. He’s an action taker, but a principled one, and he servers his King insupport of a cause he believes in.
His internal disciplinecontrols his rage. His anger ischanneled appropriately for the situation he is in. That many be simplypresenting the energy of action in the world, it may be showing assertiveness,or it may be establishing clear boundaries.
When necessary, the Warrioracts with clean anger to provide the energy of offensive or defense action whenthat is needed to protect the things and people for whom he is responsible.
He may feel fear, but thatwill not prevent him from executing the King’s Mission in the world, nor frombringing to an end those things which no longer serve the Kingdom.
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HowTo Access Your Inner Warrior Continued
TraditionalAspects
Aggressive
If you look up the word“aggressive” in the dictionary, these are the definitions you’ll find:
characterized by ortending toward unprovoked offensives, attacks, invasions, or the like;militantly forward or menacing
making an all-out effortto win or succeed; competitive
vigorously energetic,especially in the use of initiative and forcefulness
Of the three definitions,the first is most popular in modern culture. Something unprovoked, out of line.Notice how often “overly” precedes “aggressive” in common parlance. Aggressionmay also bring to mind military policies a person does not agree with. Ingeneral, it has a negative connotation.
But true aggression shouldbe thought of in the context of the second two dictionary entries. Effort.Energy. Initiative. Force. Aggression is a neutral tool that can be harnessedfor either ill or good. How it is channeled makes all the difference. A man whodoes not harness his aggression at all picks a fight with everyone and abouteverything; his relationships fail and he is stunted in his personaldevelopment. The man who reins in his aggression too much becomes thestereotypical weenie Nice Guy–proper aggression turns into passive aggression.He is too “polite” to go after what he wants, and he’s seething inside becauseof it. A man who has successfully integrated the Warrior archetype harnesseshis aggression as the force that pushes him to compete to be the best and moveshim ever forward towards his goals.
Purpose
Of course, that proper useof aggression presupposes that a man has goals that he’s striving towards inthe first place. A man has to have a clear and definite purpose in life, or hewill feel lost and restless, like he is drifting along instead of marchingahead.
Mindful
The mindfulness of theWarrior is two-fold. First, he is always alert and awake, ever vigilant. He haskeen situational awareness. He never lets complacency lull him to sleep;instead, he is always watching, observing, studying, and planning. Secondly,the Warrior is mindful of the finiteness of life and the inevitably of death,and he purposefully contemplates that death. His courage is rooted in the factthat he is not afraid to die. Life’s shortness brings clarity to his mind. Heknows that any minute could be his last, so he makes every day and decisioncount. Carpe diem! becomes his battle cry.
Adaptable
During the RevolutionaryWar, the Continental Army knew that it could not match the man and fire powerof the British. So instead of facing them down on a field for a traditionalbattle, the minutemen took to the woods and launched surprise hit and runattacks on the enemy. This is the way of the Warrior; he is a guerrillafighter. When he’s up against great odds, he bucks convention and uses hiscleverness and his strategic intelligence to find creative ways to turn thetide in his favor. He is an efficient fighter–he studies the weaknesses of hisopponents and concentrates his strikes there. He is flexible and able torespond to change by shifting tactics on the fly.
Minimalist
The key to successfulguerrilla warfare is the fighter’s ability to travel light. While thetraditional force has power in its superior resources, those resources alsoweigh and slow them down. The guerrilla fighter strips away all superfluitiesand excess baggage; he carries only what he needs and is thus quick and nimble,able to be two steps ahead of the enemy.
Decisive
In times of peace or crisis,whether for big things or small, the Warrior is able to boldly make decisions.He doesn’t stand there shilly-shally, wondering what he should do, scared ofchoosing the wrong option. He is calm and cool under pressure. Once he makes adecision, he unhesitatingly moves on it because he does not live in regret. TheWarrior is able to be so decisive because he trains so thoroughly for thesemoments; he is prepared. He thinks about all possible contingencies and what hewould do in each situation before the crisis arrives. When the crisis doescome, his mind and body already instinctively know what to do.
Skillful
Part of the Warrior’sconfidence in his decisions is rooted in his supreme competence. Accordingly,to Moore, “The Warrior’s energy is concerned with skill, power, and accuracy.”The Warrior “has absolute mastery of the technology of his trade…the technologythat enables him to reach his goal. He has developed skill with the ‘weapons’he uses to implement his decisions.”
Loyal
If you remember, the Hero isthe boyhood archetype which matures into the Warrior archetype. Part of thismaturation process centers on a shift in a man’s loyalties. Moore argues that“The Hero’s loyalty…is really to himself–to impressing himself with himself andto impressing others.” The Warrior’s loyalties, on the other hand, “are tosomething beyond and other than himself and his own concerns.” The Warrior’sloyalty centers on “a cause, a god, a people, a task, a nation–larger thanindividuals.” The Warrior has a “central commitment” around which he organizeshis life. His life’s purpose is rooted in ideals and principles, whichnaturally strips away superfluities and pettiness and brings his life greatmeaning.
Disciplined
The Warrior has mastered himselfin body and mind. His power is rooted in self-control. He knows when to beaggressive and how aggressive to be. Heis the master of his energies, releasing them and pulling them back as hechooses. He decides the attitude he will take in a certain situation, insteadof letting the situation dictate how he feels. Unlike the boyhood Heroarchetype, the Warrior understands his limits; he takes calculated instead ofunnecessary risks. His discipline also frees him of a fear of pain. Feeble,mediocre men believe all pain is bad. The Warrior knows there is bad pain andgood pain. He is willing, even eager to withstand psychological and physicalpain on the path to his goals. He’s the kind of man who subscribes to the “painis just weakness leaving the body” philosophy; he relishes difficulty becauseit makes him stronger.
EmotionallyDetached
Not all the time, but whenhe is in Warrior mode. To complete his mission, the Warrior must be emotionallydetached–from the fear and doubt generated by his own feelings, from theintimidation emanating from his enemy, and from the “shoulds” and demands puton him by friends and family. The Warrior needs the kind of mental clarity thatonly comes from single-minded purpose, or as Moore puts it, “The Warrior needsroom to swing his sword.”
Switching off that emotionaldetachment when away from the mission represents the great challenge for theWarrior. The inability to do so can result in one of the Warrior’s shadows.
CreativeDestroyer
The Warrior is the archetypeof destruction. However, the Warrior in his fullness only destroys in order to“make room for something new and fresh and more alive.” His is an act ofcreative destruction–he doesn’t tear things down simply for the pleasure ofdoing so. We call upon the Warrior archetype when we quit bad habits andreplace them with better ones or when we get rid of people in our lives whobring us down and surround ourselves with people who edify.
AccessingThe Warrior
If you’re accessing yourinner Warrior appropriately, you’ll experience energy, decisiveness, andcourage. You’ll see through bullshit and understand what needs to be done andfind the resolve to do it. You’ll find your “hardness”. You’ll find yourselfable to “attack” for the greater good, such as making a friend or a loved onefeel bad about something they did when they really should feel bad about it,either for their own good or for another’s. You’ll set boundaries and see thatpeople keep to them.
Without any of the otherarchetypes, you’d by a rigid asshole. But then, that’s why we have the others.
Exercisesto Access Your Inner Warrior
Give some thought to when,where, how and how much the Warrior express (or does not express) itself inyour life.
Fora more in-depth discussion about this topic request your IntroductoryConsultation.
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