Warrior Mode

Warrior Mode:

The human brain is interesting. In one moment it can be experiencing pain or discomfort that reinforces negative thought patterns and in the next moment it can be experiencing the same discomfort but be totally cool with it, telling itself an entirely different story. Being aware that this switch can occur can be extremely helpful. Knowing that your thoughts are not fixed, but a product of your mindset is important. I will give an example.

Today I did a Spartan sprint. The sprint is a 1.5 hour obstacle course where you run ~8km, and have to overcome around 23 obstacles, some harder than others. I had to wake up early and wait outside in the cold for hours waiting for the race to begin. As I sat there contemplating that I had paid $140 to be there, feeling a little weak from yesterday’s workout, I regretted my decision. As we started running up the first incline my heart started to pound as I saw the long path in front of me. If you had offered my a no-regrets refund at that moment I probably would have taken it. 

Then around 15 minutes the cold got worse, there was snow everywhere, the terrain was difficult, and I was running/walking up hills. I should have been more unhappy right? Wrong. With the adrenaline coursing through my veins, and realizing that I was with friends who were also struggling I went into what I call “warrior mode”. The pain became irrelevant, it became something to overcome. I was not complaining to myself I was thinking “I need to tough this out”. That was magic.

I think that mindset is helpful, but it is hard to explain to yourself in the non-warrior state that whatever pain you are going through is something to be overcome and not a fact that has been thrust open you that you are helpless to change. This happens all the time with things, whether its going to gym when you don’t want to, eating healthy, or procrastinating.

I

Be in warrior mode more often.

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Weapon of Influence in The Third World

I recently came back from a trip to South East Asia. For those who have travelled to any 2nd or 3rd world country you know that there are a lot of people selling you souvenirs. What is interesting is that it seems impossible to make a sale as a souvenir shop. As a local running a shop you have the same souvenirs as the next shop, you probably get the merchandise at the same purchase price as the next shop, and there are so many shops just like yours that the tourist has been offered all your merchandise at least once before, and likely within the hour. So how do they sucker my friends into a sale?

One weapon of influence (from Robert Cialdini's book Influence) that the salesmen deploy especially well is reciprocity. In Cialdini's book he states that you are likely to do something for someone if they do something for you. It is why free samples work so well. The guilt of getting a free gift weighs on you.

I saw locals deploy this weapon in action extremely well. Locals at tourist destinations take you to spots that you would not find on your own, they offer to take photos of you and your friends that you could not take, and they point you in the right direction if you are lost. Sometimes they will spend up to 20 minutes with you if you need it. All this for no cost at all! They actually won't take your money sometimes. What they will do is lead you to their shop of souvenirs. That is when you buy the souvenir you have seen 5 times that day.