How to Cultivate a Warrior Mindset

What–and who–is a warrior?

The archetype usually depicts one seasoned in the art of war. Some are masters in the martial arts; others may be archers or swordsmen. No matter the skill, our hero couples it with formidable mental strength. Cue the dramatic music (in Hollywood’s version) as the warrior faces daunting odds yet still defeats the enemy–and always for the greater good.

Fast forward a couple millennia, where our modern-day hero may show up wearing Patagonia and arrive via train, bike, or SUV. Such warriors head to battles on a different set of fields, such as sports stadiums, corporate offices, or political platforms. Some call themselves “climate warriors,” “social justice warriors,” or “warriors for peace.” The mythic designation suggests power and prowess. It hints at a fierce resolve to fight for a common goal.

That same potency, that attention and direction, is something we can all tap into on the battlefields of our lives! Some call it the “warrior mindset”–and it’s a way of thinking that can help elevate us to new levels of growth and fulfillment.

Author Tony Robbins writes and speaks on the topic. He describes a person with a warrior mindset as having these qualities:

• They refuse to give up
• They reject limitations
• They maintain a steadfast determination to break through even the most challenging of situations with focus and grit, no matter what!

He says that success in anything is 80% psychology and 20% strategy. In other words, all those years of fencing or martial arts training may sharpen a warrior’s aptitude for battle, but it’s the BELIEF that she CAN that will render her victorious.

Unlike the mythic warrior’s face-off with an outside enemy, the battle of the everyday warrior is mostly–if not wholly–fought within. The opponent in the mirror tends to be the toughest adversary of all. Yet kabbalah teaches that resistance, or opposition, is always necessary for true growth to occur. A caterpillar will never transform into a butterfly without the tight, dark confines of its cocoon. We, too, need challenges in order to change, evolve, and reveal our potential.

Think of a goal you’d like to achieve or a new direction in which you’d like to grow. What is keeping you from forging ahead? Where is the opponent–where is the resistance?

Sometimes the so-called enemy is simply procrastination. Whenever we tell ourselves that we’ll get to it “later”–be it an unfinished project, a new skill we’ve said we want to learn, or another goal or dream–that “later” tends to turn into more “laters.” Suddenly, months or years have passed, and the dream is still out there waiting for “later” to arrive. So to overcome that resistance, we need to muster our warrior energy and refuse to give up the opportunity in THIS day. Because the only way to win this battle is to turn “later” into “now”!

Or maybe the opponent looks more like insecurity or uncertainty. When we don’t believe that we can do something, or we believe that we don’t deserve it, then we’re putting away our swords before the fight even begins. Why try if we know we’re doomed to failure? This is another foe that calls for the fullness of our bravery. The warrior in us can take on such debilitating thinking by first recognizing, and then consciously refusing, the limitation. We can banish it from the kingdom by replacing it with a self-affirming thought. And we can ensure it won’t return by taking action to back up that thought. So go ahead and try that first Italian language class you’ve wanted to take for years! Learn one word, and then two. Every warrior knows that battles are won not in a single sweep but in one step, one small conquest, at a time.

I’ve known many warriors whose battles took years, but they won because they never stopped believing that they’d win. Among them were my great teachers and parents-in-law, the Rav and Karen, who were true warriors of light. The Rav dared to bring the once heavily guarded wisdom of Kabbalah out to the world so that all could benefit from its teachings. Both the Rav and Karen faced tremendous opposition, yet the priceless treasure won through their efforts has enriched thousands and will last for generations to come!

The fact is, we each possess a tool mightier than any soldier’s arsenal. No sword or gun can overtake the power of our minds to affect change in our lives and the world. Because as the Zohar teaches, the power of our thought is limitless! It is, by nature, a direct line to the infinite Light of the Creator. It holds sparks of the same great light that connects all space and time!

So today, remember that you can be a warrior on the quest to manifest your own destiny. Identify your desire and make it happen! Limits? Most of them are your own imaginings. Giving up? Don’t even think about it. Just move forward today with one step, and the next will follow. Be clear, willful, and certain in your direction… and let the next chapter of your own legend unfold!