A New Way Forward

Think about the past week. How many times have you caught yourself saying something like "If it's not one thing, it's another" or "It's always something, isn't it?"

This is a defeatist attitude - winners don't talk like that. Yet your words give meaning to your beliefs and actions. Your life could change if you embrace the mentality of the happy warrior.

You may have heard of the term "happy warrior" if you've been following politics for some time. It's attributed to an 1807 poem by William Wordsworth (great name for a poet) describing the ideal "man in arms" of the time. Since then, premier figures throughout history have been labeled as happy warriors from Hubert Humphrey to Ronald Reagan.

The more I familiarize myself with the poem and other writing done on happy warriors, though, I realize its extreme relevancy still today.

Being a happy warrior is a character archetype. Happy warriors are the kind of people driven by a higher purpose in life. They have dignity, morals, and an inner light that radiates outwards. They have hearts of a lion. However, their willful optimism is not to be confused with the strength of their fighting spirit.

Happy warriors love to learn but that doesn't stop them from taking action. They're calm in the face of danger. Their virtue, stoicism, and self-awareness drive their behavior. Their charisma and empathy creates magical connections with others. Happy warriors always look to top themselves in servitude to a greater calling but still find comfort in who they are.

Happy warriors are magnetic because our brains are tuned to appreciate this quality in others. They stick their necks out and are bold, things that we admire in others even if we can't find a way to bring it out in ourselves.

Perhaps most of all, happy warriors are known for persisting through life's challenges, occasionally against great odds. They know that life is hard and painful, and yet they carry on anyway. Because that's the only way that they know.

Happy warriors are the ultimate leaders.

So how does this apply to us? Well, we may initially think of these characteristics as things we can identify in other people. But I believe that there can be a happy warrior within all of us. We just have to bring him or her out.

First, let's call out the reality that many of us are in trying times, living in a world with a tremendous amount of problems:

• Rising costs of living and stagnant wages
• Divisions due to racial inequality and political polarization
• Loneliness caused by civic decay and the destructive consolidation of the dating market
• Social media platforms hijacking our brains with negative, controversial content, thus further igniting a mental health crisis
• Poisonous addictive influences like alcohol, drugs and gambling around every turn

Consider the problems that you're facing not on this list. It's easy to see the world as one overwhelming list of problems. If you go looking for them, they will pop out and seem like it's all there is.

But happy warriors don't see it that way. They acknowledge the problems at hand, but don't see them as a paralyzing, immovable force. Happy warriors care too much about being a part of the solution to let that happen.

Happy warriors lead with positivity rather than complaining or placing blame. They blindly push forward thinking about better times because that's what is worth living for. They are the person we want to be rather than the person we see ourselves as today.

We must keep pushing forward with a smile on our face no matter what obstacle is put in front of us. This is not just about living up to our own potential, it's about doing so for our families, friends, and communities as well.

The first day of your new identity as a happy warrior could begin today.