In certain situations, we fight to survive and succeed. It’s human nature. There are two types of fighter in this world – one performs well in peace time and the other thrives in war time.
The peacetime fighter is at their best when times are stable or in a position of prosperity. This is because their focus is motivated by success and their outlook can then be extended to wider areas in order to maintain advancement.
Wartime fighters exceed when the going is tough. When life isn’t so stable, they aren’t in the top position or where they need to be, they will focus on exploring new avenues, strive to solve the challenges and take risks to gain their success.
In military terms, the way in which an army approaches both war and peace is adherently different.
Peacetime is used to observe and train your troops, readying them to fight the enemy on the battlefield. It’s a time of focus on individual soldiers – bettering them for future war and improving weapons for ultimate readiness. It’s all about using this time of stability to build on the foundations and enhance the army.
When wartime comes, the approach is entirely different. In fact it completely reverses. The focus turns to practical strategies of invading more territories and killing more enemies – in other words is all about survival and protection. During this time it’s difficult to know what individual troops are doing. They are out there facing unknown movements and acting accordingly.
Peacetime Fighter vs Wartime Fighter
Based on these two different situations, both types of fighters react differently. While each type of fighter can thrive in the right circumstances, they equally have their weaknesses.
Peacetime Fighters Fight to Maintain Peace
This type of people actively define their own rules allowing everyone to follow through and get work done in an ordered fashion.With these clearer rules and guidelines, it’s much easier to see the big picture and plan for future goals accordingly.
But they’re much easier to be boxed in by rigid rules that can be followed easily. This limits certain directions or flourishing. It’s harder to be aware of potential dangers and decisions can be based on assumption.
Wartime Fighters Fight to Battle
There are less restrictions by guidelines and rules which means this type of fighter will go above and beyond to survive and take necessary risks. The survival mode means being more hyper aware of anything that may go wrong and correcting it or preventing it all together.
But war time fighters are more likely to react to a situation depending on the circumstances rather than their own thought-out strategies. The focus is almost entirely on short-term results therefore making it difficult to see the bigger picture and plan for the future.
When Fighters Are at the Wrong Place
Getting a peacetime fighter in a war situation, or a wartime fighter in a peace situation will show how each one will inevitably struggle to survive.
The peacetime fighter lacks the sensitivity to danger and will find it hard to make necessary progress without rules and guidelines. While the wartime fighter would find it difficult to follow set rules for a long-term period.
An example of this could be a family doctor working in local clinics. In this environment (peacetime) he is able to perform his job successfully. However, if he was to suddenly move over to the Accident & Emergency department of a hospital (wartime), his performance may drastically decline.
This means both types of fighters have their ideal circumstances in which they thrive. Peacetime fighters prefer stable settings where rules are defined, seeing straight towards their goal. Wartime fighters work best where the lack of strict rules allows flexibility to reach their goals in their own way.
The Optimum Fighter
Since life isn’t linear, we will experience both peace and war at times in our lives. This is why becoming good at both is the optimal way to survive.
For example, traditional hotels would never have imagined needing to compete against options like AirBnB – they’ve gone from peacetime to wartime. Blackberry and Nokia were once cruising in success but now see themselves in their own wartime at the edge of the market.
Having both skills can keep you going through the easy and hard times creating more continuity in your success.
Learn the Rules, Break the Rules
Know that all the training in the world and enhancement on your ‘weapons’ won’t mean anything if you don’t use them in the ‘war zone’. Understand that testing your rules and criteria for success, will allow you to learn your strengths and weaknesses and therefore improve them. Only then will you know when to break or stick to your rules.
Be Prepared For “Sudden War”
Creating a mindset where you realize that everything is temporary or replaceable at any time will allow you to become more prepared. Being prepared causes you to keep thinking outside the box of peaceful steady stability, and allows you to think of alternative choices in any given area of your life. Sudden war can be unavoidable sometimes, so having a plan B wherever possible will create a better stability in the face of adversity.
You can be both a peacetime fighter and a wartime fighter. Try to combine the positive aspects of both fighting styles and you’ll achieve new levels of success.
