This week, we continue our series on King, Warrior, Magician, Lover, by Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette.
Each edition in this series explores one of the major “archetypes” laid out in the book. Last week, we looked at “the Magician.” This week, it’s “the Warrior”…
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
🎯 The Idea In a Nutshell:
Modern society wants to label all forms of aggression as toxic.
But there is a time and a place where standing your ground is healthy and necessary.
Protecting our families, defending our values, and fighting for a just cause are all examples.
A certain level of aggressiveness is hardwired in a man’s DNA; this cannot be wished away, no matter how much some may want to.
We must learn to recognize this force and channel it toward positive ends or it will manifest in harmful ways.
📝 Diving Deeper
We live in a society that wants to bury aggression. To sand all the edges off our masculine nature. But aggressiveness is hardwired into a man’s DNA; it couldn’t be stamped out even if we wanted to (which we don’t).
We live in an unpredictable world that can be wicked and unforgiving. There comes a time when we must be willing to impose our will. This could mean physically, but it doesn’t have to. The warrior energy is about more than the capacity for brute force. It’s about facing fear. Scoffing at discomfort. And pushing through resistance.
It’s the husband who’s willing to initiate the painful conversation to improve his marriage
It's the father who sets firm, healthy boundaries for his children and sticks to them.
It’s the leader who endures body blows from his board to protect his team and the mission.
The warrior archetype is rooted in what Moore and Gillette call “proper aggressiveness.” The warrior is characterized by clear thinking. Discrenment. Skill. Power. Accuracy. And control. He has mastery over his emotions and can detach from them to gain a more strategically advantageous perspective.
His attitude is “always forward,” but this doesn’t always mean full frontal attacks. It may mean pausing to shift tactics. To regroup. To find the soft spots in your opponent, whether that opponent is an adversary, a business competitor, or a mental block.
👉 Why it matters:
There is a place for being flexible and accommodating.
But there is also such a thing as being too nice.
Proper aggressiveness urges us to move out of our holding positions and go on the offensive against life’s problems.
Bad habits, unfulfilling careers, and toxic relationships all deserve to be met with resistance.
Cultivating this energy sets an example and provides our families with a sense of stability and security.
🤔 Prompts for Reflection
In what parts of your life are you acting too passively?
What would it look like to take a firm position?
What negative narratives are you harboring about aggression, and how might you challenge those?
Make today impactful.
~Jason