We Are All Warriors | The Warrior Ethos, By Steven Pressfield | Part 1

“The Spartans do not ask how many are the enemy but where are they.” - Plutarch

We are all warriors. We are all fighting in one way or another. A common misconception is that fighting is always violent and typically a negative.

In reality, we all have inner and outer demons that we must conquer. Those inner demons are the ones that I’m particularly focused on in my own life.

Many people also cling to societal notions of “success” — They are in a constant state of wanting more more more.

They want a nicer car. A bigger house. A greener lawn. They want to one up the guy or gal next to them. Society likes to teach us to strive for more “stuff” rather than more inner strength and inner virtue.

We Are All Warriors | Fighting the Good Fight

The world today looks almost nothing like it did 100 years ago, let alone 1000+ years ago. It’s unrecognizable in many ways. Despite the many disparities, there are still many fundamental truths to the way that we live, think, act and cooperate.

We live in a world that is so cushioned from reality. When we’re hungry, we walk (or even drive) down the street to the supermarket and fill a basket with food from thousands of potential options.

When we need to know something, we can simply google it.

If we need to go somewhere we’ve never been before, we can find it on our mobile GPS app on our smartphone. If we’re unsure of the safety or any other factor of this location, we can google it, search it on yelp, etc. and find people who have already been there and see what advice they have to give.

We can even reach out on social media to our hundreds or thousands or tens of thousands of followers (or even tap into hashtag communities) and tap people for their knowledge on something.

To put it simply, life is easier today than it was yesterday. There is less adversity. There is less struggle. There is less of a need to fight for your own survival on a daily basis.

In my opinion, this lack of need to fight for basic survival leaves us with a deep hole inside. We crave the fight, yet we have little to struggle for.

This is where our inner demons come into play. The world is far from perfect and many parts of the world are still struggling to solve their basic survival needs like clean, drinkable water, access to proper nutrition, access to technology and medicine, etc etc., but if you’re reading this post, it is likely that that is not the nature of your situation.

Thus, our inner demons become the fight that is most relevant. How do we conquer our fears? How do we find our identity in this strange world? What is the meaning of life on both a universal and individual level?

These questions, and many others, can be solved by The Warrior Ethos. Creating, cultivating and living by a code of honor that we craft around our own lives can give us a deep satisfaction and can allow us to face challenges with a renewed sense of life and purpose.

“Where did the Warrior Ethos come from? Why would anyone choose this hard, dangerous life? What could be the philosophy behind such a choice?” -- Steven Pressfield, The Warrior Ethos

Struggle is a part of life. It is a part of the journey. Without struggle, we find ourselves lost in the world. We feel a lack of purpose and a lack of destiny.

No Room For Cowards

“The most famous Spartan mother story is also the shortest:

A Spartan mother handed her son his shield as he prepared to march off to battle. She said, “Come back with this or on it.”

-- Steven Pressfield, The Warrior Ethos

This famous Spartan story is one of my favorites. Spartan warriors who died honorably on the battlefield were traditionally carried home on their shields.

Those who abandoned the fight were a complete disgrace to the Spartan society.

Coming back with your shield means that you fought honorably with your Spartan brothers and you survived and succeeded in your mission and ultimate duty as a warrior.

Coming back on your shield means that you fought honorably with your Spartan brothers and you died while fulfilling your mission and ultimate duty as a warrior.

Because of the ease of our current lifestyle, it can be easy to run away from every fight and struggle.

In fact, society teaches us to actually run away from adversity. Society wants us to get a 9-5 job, buy a house, have a family, go to the supermarket and always desire more more more. That’s how a capitalistic society functions — by construing this massive web of desires and stories.

Running from the fight is dishonorable. We must remind ourselves that adversity is one of the cornerstones to a successful and happy life.

I started this post by talking about fighting your own inner demons. Many people shy away from their inner demons. They push them deep down and pretend like they aren’t there.

You and people you know have all done this in the past. I think the easiest way to identify an inner demon that you’ve been ignoring is to think of a positive habit that you’ve attempted and failed to start and consistently keep on a daily basis.

For many people, such a habit may be reading daily, writing daily, exercising daily, eating clean and wholesome foods, etc. etc. The list is long and only you know which is most relevant to you.

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Today’s QOTD is going to be a challenge rather than a question:

Identify 1 habit that you have been putting off - be it reading, writing, exercising, whatever - identify that habit and then don’t run away from it. Run towards the adversity and the struggle of putting it into place today. Fight the demon head on as a Spartan would go to battle knowing that they must either return with their shield or on it.