The Warrior Ethos
There have been and still are warriors all over the world that abide by the same code as they have for thousands of years. This warrior ethos has been unspoken but understood for centuries. Athletes of today can take a little page out of the book of these warriors and apply those same lessons to their training and athletic careers.
Courage
The number one aspect or intangible of a warrior is courage. It is said that the mothers or wives or Spartans that came back accused of showing a lack of courage were humiliated and shunned by society. A warrior without courage is comparable to a magician without magic. You simply can not be a warrior without courage.
An athlete who is afraid to do what they have to do to be great will never get to the level that they want to be. It is a simple concept but it imperative for athletes to show some level of courage.
There are endless stories of athletes being afraid to go to the gym, to complete a workout, to go that extra mile, to make that tackle. You name it and there is a story of an athlete who missed the mark because they were afraid to take that step toward greatness.
Hard Work
After Adam and Eve ate the apple they were cast out from the garden of Eden and forced to live the life of hard work
” henceforth shalt thou eat thy bread in the sweat of thy face”
This quote whether you are religious or not is an ode to hard work. You are going to have to learn to work hard for a living. It does not matter what your profession. If you are an athlete and you want to make it to the big time you need to learn to adopt a grit mindset. You can go home when the work is done mindset. Hard work is what warriors did and it is what you are going to have to do if you want to be a remarkable athlete.
The Transformation
You are going to go through a transformation. You are going to have to. It is the transformation from a boy to a man or a girl to women. It is imperative for the warrior and the athlete to go through this. It’s going to be inoculating yourself in hard situations. Finding a way through them on your own or with some guidance.
The warrior ethos demands it. boys and girls do not fight wars. men and women do. It is up to you as an athlete to accept, even seek out this transformation. Ask for hardship, learn new skills, train. Simple as that.
Selflessness
Probably the greatest intangible of a warrior is there ability to be selfless. They are more worried about the group’s success than they are about the success of themselves.
The warrior ethos is to protect your own and to bring honor to the team than to bring honor to yourself. Athletes who are on a team need to adopt this mentality. Without it, you will never win a championship. Selflessness if taking care of those that stand to your left and right. If everyone on the team has this mindset you yourself will be protected as well. It is the only thing that matters to a team.
Respect For Your Enemy
You must have respect for your enemy. They could very well be your teammates at another time. You can not overestimate or underestimate your opponent. They could have just as much if not more training then you. This is your ability to see your opponent as an equal to you. Your ability to compete against them to the best of your ability knowing they are going to be doing the same against you. This is the warrior ethos at its finest. The code amongst all warriors, friend or foe.
Love The Misery
In other words, embrace the suck. This is where growth occurs. Without misery or hardship, you will never realize your potential. Loving friction and learning to accept all of them is where you as an athlete, as a warrior are going to excel. You will need to go through these hardships and misery with a smile on your face. Go through them with laughter. Knowing that you will be greeted on the other side with greater ability to handle more.
Honor
This is simple. Be a man or women of integrity, fairness, and honesty. That it is it. Simple and straightforward.
Discipline
Being a warrior means to have a set of disciplines are unbreakable. This is that you will need to stay on your path. The path of a warrior is filled with self-discipline. The only form of discipline that matters. You must control your own destiny by learning what matters most to you and your team. The warrior ethos demands you to be disciplined.
Learning to control our urges in order to keep yourself on the path of growth is difficult, remember though. Learn to love the misery. It is the true path to success on and off the field!
