Two of the most overused words in our modern vernacular might be the words, war and warrior. Why is it that we are attached to these words? What is it about these words that cause us to engage in a way that either inspires or elicits so much emotional energy?

In today’s world, why would anyone want to Unleash the Warrior Within?

Here is a fact: Our collective human history is permeated with the context of war. 

It would be easy to point at some location on a world map and say that is the reason war is on our brains. But that is not the truth. The truth is that we have been using the word war so much and for so long that its meaning is so much deeper. It is because we are so familiar with the word that we rarely, if ever, explore its meaning or how often it is used to talk about persevering through unthinkable odds.

When we talk about the war on drugs, what are we really talking about?  We’re talking about our wish to end the dangers of illegal drugs.  When we talk about the war on poverty, we’re talking about our desire to end poverty.  When we talk about the war on AIDS, we’re talking about controlling and ending the deaths caused by HIV and AIDS.

Now what about the war on war?  We want to end war.  But to end war we must understand war.  And the starting point for all war comes from within each of us.

True warriors understand this; this is why we need more warriors. Being a warrior is not about the act of fighting.  It’s about the ability, courage, and commitment to end the war within oneself and not quit until the job is done.  Whether it’s ending war within your home, your relationships, your neighborhood, your business, your country, or your world, warriors understand that they have to start from within themselves and build outward.  They know that by mastering the war within themselves, they can make the greatest difference in their world.

What is this war within?  It is the battle that takes place within our own minds.  Just like in real war, we have conflicting ideas that fight against one another.  This conflict is internal and begins when that tiny voice within us tells us we’re not capable—that we shouldn’t bother striving to overcome the challenges placed before us.  We may call them dreams, goals, or objectives, but in the end it is the accomplishment of that which we desire. With every desire we have we must come face to face with our core beliefs about whether or not the desire can be made a reality.

On one level, we believe we’re capable of great things.  We see ourselves as heroic figures.  But at the first sign of stress, fatigue, and fear that diminishing voice creeps in.  Our mind begins to work against us.  That tiny voice grows in intensity and volume. We hesitate.  We begin to doubt our abilities.  Now that internal voice is so loud that we can barely make any sense of it. We second-guess ourselves. We believe there is an inherent scarcity with regards to what might be possible. It is in that moment that the inner war is raging.

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