I’ve spent way too much time lately talking about kettlebells and losing weight lately. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with those things, but I can’t neglect the mind and how we think about things.
You see, there’s something to be said for the phrase, “Where the head goes, the ass follows.” If you get your head wrapped around things correctly, you’re far more likely to actually do those things.
Your mindset determines everything.
Mindset Is Everything
What you think and how you think about things is a big factor in your approach to those things. I won’t say that perception is everything, because that’s postmodernist garbage, but I will say perceptions matter.
For example, if you’ve been told your whole life that the sky is green and grass is blue, how are you going to approach the idea of colors?
How you think about things can be incredibly powerful. That applies to anything.
When it comes to the Barbarian way, though, your mindset is essential because it sets the stage.
You see, you can follow a set of principles easily enough. Plenty of people do it. However, having the right mindset helps keep you on track as you go forward.
Warrior Archetypes And How They Apply
I haven’t talked about warrior archtypes for
Yet I do believe they offer something special, something that will allow an individual to latch onto an idea and use that to shape their mindset.
It’s something that we do in other facets of our life. Young athletes want to be LeBron James or Tom Brady. Investors want to be Warren Buffet. Programmers want to be the next Mark Zuckerberg.
No matter what people do, they model their behavior on those who have achieved success already.
Those engaging in fitness do this to some degree. When I was a kid, everyone wanted to look like Arnold. It was the default position. He was the archetype.
The problem was, there wasn’t enough there to build a functional archetype. Not for us, anyway.
The Barbarian Archetype
When I wrote the post “The Modern Barbarian,” I wasn’t trying to do anything than figure out how to approach a problem. I had no idea that there was some self-defense course out there with the same name.
But I have found that embracing that has changed my mindset. It changed my thinking and how I train. And about everything else.
It’s now my default archetype, one I’ve internalized to such a high degree that it’s even impacted my sense of aesthetics. I mean, when you skimming eBay and Etsy looking for Wheel of Pain decorative items…
It’s impacted my mind in deep, significant ways. It’s now become part of my identity.
And because of that, I don’t look at rolls of fat as remotely acceptable. I’m disgusted with who and what I used to be. I’m not particularly thrilled with who I am right now, truth be told. But I am happy that I’m headed in the right direction.
But my mindset isn’t the issue. The fact that I can’t make fat disappear and muscle appear is the issue, though if I’m honest, I’d rather earn it anyway.
The Barbarian Way
Something I need to do around here is figure out exactly what the Barbarian Way is and how to apply it. That’ll be a long, difficult task as I figure out exactly what the hell it is.
I also need a better idea of what a Barbarian is in a physical sense as well. I need to understand what kind of training is essential. That means study. Lots and lots of study.
After all, if this worked for me, who else can it work for? Who else can I use this approach for and help to transform their entire life?
With the right mindset, the answer is, “everyone.”
