The Modern Warrior knows there is no dishonor in defeat. Failure and defeat are not the same. Since there is no dishonor in defeat, the Modern Warrior takes ownership of their defeat; therefore defeat has no ownership over the Modern Warrior.
The Modern Warrior knows they are most powerful when they take ownership for everything entrusted to them, yet they claim ownership over nothing. The Modern Warrior takes complete responsibility without ever needing any praise. In this way, the warrior owns both everything and nothing. Because the concept of ownership is an illusion. Ownership is not about possession; it is about responsibility. What you own matters far less than what you take ownership for. What you take responsibility for is far more important than what you think you own. Your greatest stewardship is how you live the life you have been given. It is a strange thing that we can own something like a house or a phone and yet give away ownership of our own lives. Whatever the circumstances, when we hold someone else responsible for our lives or for the condition of our lives, we are giving away the responsibility that has been entrusted to us. Now a days we are far more compelled by possession than by responsibility. We want to own, but we don’t want to take ownership.
The modern Warrior understands that to blame others is an act of cowardice. People blame in an attempt to hide their shame. This is not the way of the Modern Warrior. The Modern Warrior understands that to blame is not simply an disowning of responsibility but a relinquishing of power. You cannot change, what you do not take responsibility for. When you blame someone else, you become dependent on that individual to solve your problem and change your circumstance. You see there is an unexpected relationship between blame and fear. When you blame others for your failure, you become powerless to change the world around you. You begin to live your life filled with fear, paralyzed by uncertainty and embittered by a sense of victimization.
Sometimes people feel paralyzed by a past they didn’t choose. They find themselves broken and even traumatized by things that happened to them and not because of them. Taking responsibility when something is your fault makes perfect sense, but it’s a tough pill to swallow that you need to take ownership over your circumstances even when they’re not your fault. Here is the hard reality:
- even if it’s not your fault, it’s still your responsibility.
- Though the wounding wasn’t your fault, the healing is your responsibility.
- Though your past may not be your fault, your future is your responsibility.
- Though their choices were not your fault, your choices are your responsibility
The Modern Warrior understands ownership begins by owning your choices, by taking responsibility for your own life, and by making decisions to stop blaming others and finding someone else to hold at fault. We have been entrusted with the power of choice. It is still in our power to create a better world. The future awaits those with the courage to create it. Never forget that when you own defeat, it can never own you. So take ownership of your life, your future, and the world around you, for you can change only what you own. Become a Modern Warrior
