“Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.” General James Mattis
Everyone should have an enemy or at least a strong rival. The warrior mentality is to be ready at all times. In this day and age, the opportunities are few and far between and largely almost never appear. With this idleness, it is easy for complacency to set in. To be complacent is to be satisfied with one’s ability or achievement and with this mentality, it is easy for us to lose our motivation or to get out of shape. One way to create motivation is to have a nanteki (難敵) or “formidable enemy.” The mere fact of having a rival can enables us to stave off complacency and it can also drive us to improve ourselves. Recently I read an article about basketball great Kevin Durant and how he had a rivalry with Kobe Bryant. Durant said, “I felt like I had a beef with Kobe Bryant, but he didn’t even know I had this beef.” In the interview, Durant talked about how having this mentality enable him to “sharpen his own skills.” In older times, the teacher acted as our adversary. The teacher was supposed to create this harsh environment that was filled with unfair criticisms and rough treatment. The reason for this was because it was thought that young people had iji or “willfulness” and that the teacher was supposed to transform that obstinateness into konjo or “fighting spirit.” Some teachers went so far as to make the student hate them just to stoke the fire within them. The student worked harder because they wanted nothing more than to beat the teacher. The reason for this treatment was because the Japanese believed in Yudantaiteki (油断大敵) or that “Being unprepared is the greatest enemy.” Thus, complacency is the greatest threat to any martial artist. Understanding this, having a rival can help us to stay vigilant and motivated because their mere presence can bring out the best in us. That is why, even in times of peace, everyone should have an enemy, real or perceived.
Today’s goal: Do you have a rival? They don’t even need to be aware of it. Use the rivalry to motivate you to do more or be better.
Read Durant’s interview