This is a summary of a fun-read-book titled “The Everyday Warrior” - A no hack practical approach to life written by Mike Sarraille in 2022. He talks about life holding valuable lessons as we go along the way to achieving our goals. He even calls out failures to find encouragement not discouragement. Using military terminology, he teaches soft skills such as drive, resilience, and a positive attitude. He says maintaining a balance between physical, mental, and emotional needs is important. Finally, he talks about why shortcuts disappoint and the journey is often its own reward.

The main take-aways are that the “Everyday warrior” uses failure as a teacher and motivator. Mentally fit people treat the brain as a muscle they condition, exercise and rest. Time constraints, fear, doubt and weak initiative prevent people from committing to achieving their goals. Instant gratification must be avoided and instead a step-by-step technique can be adopted to pursue one’s goals. People yearn for connection via a social circle or tribe. Time must be taken to rest and reflect.

Maintaining a balance when striving towards goals is an art and a science. We cannot let anxiety, depression, social isolation, apathy and frustration deter us. The Everyday warrior’s traits are instead resilience, confidence, positive attitude, and a drive to achieve and improve. This mindset makes us accountable, disciplined, pragmatic, vulnerable, humble and capable of honest self-assessment.

Consider that Michael Phelps, the Olympian swimmer won 23 gold medals and constantly sought to achieve success in Olympics at the cost of a balanced boyhood and resulting in subsequent struggles with alcohol and drug abuse. The “whole person concept”, on the other hand, practiced by Army Green Berets and Navy Seal recruiters who excel in volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous aka VUCA situations.

An everyday warrior knows when to rest and care for oneself is as important as fighting the battle. Acquiring self-knowledge is challenging because media, school, families, and “external influences” shape what people think they want. Comparing oneself with others or choosing goals based on how others will perceive them is not the right approach. Instead, we must determine our own definition of success. An example of this is that Marine Rob Jones lost both his legs in Afghanistan tour to an IED but when he returned he made it his goal to raise funds for veterans. As part of one of his campaigns, he ran 31 marathons in 31 days. There is even a famous saying attributed to stoic king Marcus Aurelius who said that we cannot control events but we can control our mind. We must shift away from a victim mind-set. People only fail to reach their goal out of doubt, fear, time-constraints, and unwillingness to make the required effort.

The five steps to succeed are 1. To set a smart goal, 2. Develop a plan of sequential tasks aka “small victories”, 3. Taking actions that disrupt the comfort of old habits, 4. Making time for introspection, and 5. And repeating the process until we are “more accomplished and capable.”

We must avoid shortcuts in pursuing our goals. Building resistance to instant gratification by showing gratitude and training oneself to avoid instant rewards will help us in the long run.