Winners win because they know when to fight
“All is fair in love and war.” “Love is a battlefield.” “Life is suffering.”
We have many sayings to capture the struggle factor inherent in being human, and even though many overstate and dramatize it for show and effect, there is no denying that, indeed, we all fight for something in life.
When he compiled The Art of War in 500 BC, Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu did not think of businessmen, athletes, and lovers reading his book 2,500 years later to win battles fought far from the field, but because of its structure and comprehensiveness, that is what happened.
The book has persisted for more than two millennia. It is the most influential East Asian military text and has informed war culture all over the world. Because of this, it has also found audiences far beyond its central appeal.
The Art of War may be a book for soldiers and generals, but if you look closely, you’ll spot many useful lessons for everyday life. Here are three of them.
Losers often lose because they spend most of their time fighting instead of thinking. If you pick a battle with every person you bump into on the street, of course you’ll spend a lot of time on the ground.
James Altucher says: “Never wrestle with a pig. You’ll get dirty and the pig will be happy.” If someone is trying to get you to fight them, don’t. The taunt itself is a sign they either think they have the upper hand or your stooping down to their level is exactly what they want.
Let’s say you had an ugly break-up and your ex keeps coming back to drag you through the mud. “The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury,” Marcus Aurelius says. Focus on yourself. Be happy. Ignore your ex. Your happiness is a battle you can win. The quarreling with them isn’t.
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