Thinking Like a Warrior
We have heard this so many times, ‘as a man thinketh so is he’. We are a product of our thought patterns and whether we win or lose in life rests on how we think. You can never rise above your thoughts. Thoughts of defeat produce a defeated life. Thoughts of success and prosperity produce success and prosperity. This then brings the question; how does one get to think like a warrior? What are the attributes of the thought patterns of a warrior? The truth is that we win or lose before we even begin the battle for our dreams and goals.
The reason we encourage people to think like a warrior is that whatever you want in life will be challenged. There is nothing in this world that you can desire that can be handed to you on a silver platter; it will be challenged. It’s as if life is asking you how badly you want it. It then requires that you think like a warrior. A warrior thinks of winning the battle. No warrior goes to battle with a mentality that they will be defeated. The plan is to go for it and win. Winning at life begins in the mind. You cannot harbor defeated thoughts and expect a miracle when in the battle.
Thinking patterns are what stifles our capacities and abilities to rise above any situation. To conquer and be valiant like a warrior, winning must be your focus; you must see it in your mind first before you can even take hold of the victory. This applies to any area of your life; academics, work, relationships, and new hobbies. You can achieve anything you want as long as you believe yourself capable.
One of the greatest attributes of warriors is their focus on the end goal-the prize. To think like a warrior means that you constantly have to weigh your actions against the end goal. Thinking like a warrior means thinking about the results and pressing on towards them. Thinking about the end goal minimizes the size of the obstacles. It has been said that when the obstacles seem huge, you have taken your eyes off the prize. If your prize is attaining distinctions at school, it means that your focus is on the distinctions. You will even have the mental virility to forego some of the things that you love and enjoy because your eyes are on the prize. You can attain the distinctions if you focus on them. As Darrin Donnelly says, “You were not born a winner and you were not born a loser. You are what you make yourself to be.” You can achieve all your goals by thinking like a warrior and making yourself a winner by focusing on the end goal.
The true test of anyone that thinks like a warrior is how they overcome adversity. It’s all fun and games when we talk about all the strides and feats we want to achieve in our lives. Talk is cheap as is said, the true test is how we think when things do not go our way. Ever been where a setback sets you into a morbid state and you are depressed? You feel so defeated that you are just willing to give up. This is not the mark of a warrior. A warrior knows that obstacles are part and parcel of the path to success. Therefore, a warrior conditions their mind to overcome any obstacles. Darrin Donnelly says, “Those who respond with optimism will turn the negative situation around and ensure a positive outcome in the long run.” Unless we can think of the obstacles we encounter as stepping stones on the road to success, we can never achieve the greatness we yearn for. The true mark of warrior thinking is overcoming obstacles.
Thinking like a warrior also means fighting for what you want and believe in. Thinking patterns are the total of socialization, environments, and experiences. At times, our environments do not allow us to think positively about the things that we want. It is the mark of a combatant to fight for what they want. This means fighting to have thoughts that promote the achievement of your goals and dreams. Thinking positively is no walk in the park. It takes effort and courage. Choose positive thoughts.
In closing, thinking like a warrior is not easy. Forging through difficult times is at times a gruesome task. At times the obstacles seem insurmountable and it is not always the case that light can be seen at the end of the tunnel. However, how huge, small, surmountable, or not an obstacle is, begins in our minds. When we transform our minds to think like a warrior, we can see the path of success clearly and it gives us the courage and the strength to go for our dreams and our goals. As long as we are defeated in our minds, we will be defeated in every other area of our lives.