Hoisting the Jolly Roger
The Turning Feral Journal - Day 18
Day 18: Knowing when to fight for something is a skill. One that has taken me nearly four decades to figure out. For most of my life I oscillated between being a perpetually scared individual who would cower to any presence of authority or physical prowess, and a young man who would pick a fight at the drop of a hat or go to bat for individuals who I felt needed “protecting.” Both of which always led to bad outcomes.
As Kenny Rogers said, “Know when to hold'em’, know when to fold' em, and know when to walk away,” and few truer words have ever been spoken. For me, this evolution has come around to understanding that I need to have the capacity to fight (physically and mentally), to hoist the jolly roger whenever I need, but to do so strategically – and only for pursuits that deserve the time, effort, sacrifice, and potential repercussions.
But, how does one figure out what’s worth fighting for and what is just the ego prodding you into conflict? For me, pursuing stoic philosophy was the solution. The hyper-condensed TL;DR is don’t be so attached to something that you are forced into fighting a zero-sum game, but if you are forced into fighting… be ready for it.
Daily Prompt: Are you ready for a fight? If not, where do you need to develop fighting skills? Do you lack physical capability and need to hit the gym or learn a martial art? Do you lack mental discipline and need to destroy your own ego? Write down what you will do to close those gaps over the next year here:
Motivational Passage:
“Ego is the enemy- giving us wicked feedback, disconnected from reality. It’s defensive, precisely when we cannot afford to be defensive. It blocks us from improving by telling us that we don’t need to improve. Then we wonder why we don’t get the results we want, why others are better and why their success is more lasting.”Ryan Holiday, “Ego Is The Enemy”
Rewidling Action: There are so many great resources on stoicism that you can peruse online. One of the staples in the space is Ryan Holiday and any one of his books is a great place to start.