As we continue to progress as a society, I have come to find that reading books from ancient times has provided much insight on how to handle tough situations. One of my favorite influencers is military strategist and philosopher Sun Tzu. Sun Tzu is most known for his writings in Art of War. Through his writings he shares his wisdom that is extremely useful, not only in business and your career life, but in your personal life as well. So, I have decided to dedicate a weeks worth of posts on Sun Tzu. I will be mentioning my favorite lessons I have learned from his teachings, along with an explanation.
Day 1:
If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle
I think the most important lesson here is knowing yourself. Knowing and understand your strengths and weaknesses are a key aspect to a successful life. It’s about reflecting on your life and really looking back thinking about the mistakes you made and why you made them. Was it because someone had ticked you off? Was it because you were young and immature back then? Or are you stuck blaming someone for your past mistakes? If we are in a position where we are constantly blaming the other person -- “He cheated on me”, “He’s a dick”, “They fucked me over”, we really aren’t able to grow and we hold onto that anger for years. Though these statements may be true. I believe that with every mistake that we make or when a situation doesn’t go the way that we had expected is an opportunity for growth. SELF-GROWTH and REFLECTION. Look back at a situation and realize where you went wrong, but don’t play victim. Understand what you could have done to modify the situation and move forward in your life. Take it with a grain of salt and learn your lesson and learn more about you. With each situation that does not go our way, is an opportunity to reflect on what our weaknesses, strengths, opportunities and threats are. So that from there, when you know yourself, and you learn more about the other party (enemy is quite a derogatory term. So I replaced it with other party. Can relate to potential business partner, friend, potential fiance) you are able to truly to win this “battle” -- you both are.