To Live Is To Fight

“The life of man upon earth is a warfare.” – Job 7:1

The Ancient Romans loved the metaphor of life as a battle.

They viewed themselves as on the defensive, no matter the endeavor. So much so that, “Up against the wall was, for the Romans, the most stimulating and indeed the strongest position,” wrote the historian Carlin Barton.

“Vivere est militare,” they would say — to live is to fight.

In a time of gladiators and constant battle, this was a fitting ideal. The reminders were everywhere.

In our own lives, it’s less apparent. We’re safe and comfortable. But we are in a fight.

A fight for a meaningful life.

A fight against our impulses and for who we want to be.

And a fight against instant gratification in a world that pushes us towards comfort and conformity.

Assuming Command

Epictetus echoed this sentiment when he asked, “Don’t you know life is like a military campaign?”

“You have been stationed in a key post, not some lowly place, and not for a short time but for life, he continued.”

In this war of life, we’re the most important person on the battlefield.

Every day, we have the choice to be a general or to be a foot soldier. Are we willing to accept the responsibility of making every decision? Are we willing to carry the weight of owning the outcomes of those decisions?

We’re ultimately responsible. We’re the one calling the families of the wounded. It’s on us to think of the second and third consequence of every action.

It’s on us to see where we’re heading and make the daily decisions to stay on course.

Many of us are afraid of stepping into this role. We want to shy away. We want to hide in the back. We’re hoping someone comes along to save us, to tell us what to do.

We’d rather follow orders than trust ourselves as a master. We’d rather follow orders and be able to point a finger when we don’t get what we want instead of having to own our decisions.

In choosing to view life as a battle, and ourselves as in charge, we take ownership over our lives. We’re forced turn up our guard against vices and potential traps.

When things don’t go as planned, it’s on us to respond. It’s on us to adjust the strategy and keep going. It’s on us not to surrender.

Think about a time you’ve delegated away your power to guide your own life.

We make a plan, but one little thing doesn’t go right so we chalk it up to fate. We take any setback as a sign that it’s not meant to be. We let ourselves off the hook.

Take command over your life. See it through the lens of a war. When something doesn’t go as planned, it’s on you to figure out the next move. It’s on you to motivate the troops, to keep fighting.

Stop waiting for orders that aren’t coming to go after the life you know you want.

Burn the Boats

There will be times in this fight for our lives, where we will need to take radical action. Where we must eliminate the option of failing. Where we must stop giving ourselves an out.

In 1519 the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes found himself in such a situation.

Cortes was preparing to lead his 500 men into battle against half a million Aztec warriors to conquer Mexico.

Encamped on the coast while planning his attack, his men wanted to sail back to Cuba. They were flush with gold from the Aztecs and dreaming of the comforts of home.

Facing mutiny, Cortes made a radical decision. He stripped his fleet of ships of anything useful and ordered them to be sunk.

Standing on the shore with his men watching the ships sink, he reflected that they now had, “nothing to rely on save their own hands – and the certainty that they must either win the land or die in the attempt.”  

Cortes took the option of returning home off the table. He made survival the only thing his men could think of. Two years later they conquered the Aztec empire.

We’re unlikely to face such a radical situation in our own lives, but we can take similar action.

Many of us need to burn the boats. Nothing feels urgent, so we half commit to things, and give ourselves the option of backing out.

Instead of quitting drinking, we say we’re going to cut back.

Instead of committing to losing weight, we say we’re going to start eating healthier.

Instead of committing to working out 5 times a week, we say we’re going to start getting in shape.

We set vague goals that are impossible to hold ourselves accountable to. We make it impossible to gauge any progress. We play it safe.

This fight for a meaningful life comes at the cost of the one we’re currently living. We have to commit. We have to burn the boats.

We have to leave relationships.

We have to quit jobs.

We have to eliminate foods.

We have to stop doing what we’ve always been doing.

We need radical changes to make radical changes.

A military life is one of sacrifice. What are you willing to give up to get what you want?

If you really want to quit drinking, you’ll tell your friends and empty the fridge. If you really want to get in shape, you’ll skip the bar on Friday night so you can be at the gym on Saturday morning.

Your new life is going to cost you your old one. And when we’re afraid to let go, we get neither.

We have the current life that we’re sick of and that isn’t bringing us any meaning and we have the vision of the life we want, but don’t get because we won’t commit to building it. We’re left in a purgatory of our own creation.

The Daily Battle

Burning the boats is one act of courage. The next is to fight. After you’ve burned the boats, you can’t be caught standing on the shore looking around. There is only one way home.

We're the leader in this battle, every day, for the rest of our lives.

In this fight, we have to attack to worst parts of ourselves with brute force. We have to burn the boats. We have to stop giving ourselves an out. We have to crush the weakest versions of ourselves.

When you realize that your life is a war, you stop expecting it to be comfortable.

You realize that victory won’t come easy.

You’re going to be covered in dirt.

You’re going to sleep outside.

You’re going to lose men.

You’re going to be wounded.

You’re going to pushed right to the edge in exchange for the life that makes you feel alive.

To live is to fight. And a life worth living is a daily fight.