Raise an Army

For the past year, I have been on a warpath.

I have been fighting an enemy on several fronts. I face opposition in both my professional and personal life. I even contend with the enemy of all righteousness.

And as I have fought the good fight, I have learned many tactics which I will share with you in the coming weeks.

Much of the content heretofore published on this site has been a help in developing mindset – strategies. Using the metaphor of Light, I have called attention to many psychological and physiological barriers to success. In this next series of posts and articles, I hope to provide more practical knowledge and insight – tactics rather than only strategies.

First, I would instruct you in the principle art of the Commander. For anyone who wishes to achieve Victory, must become a Commander of their self and their immediate environment. Banish distractions and by doing so revoke all weakness.

It is time to take control of yourself. With control of the mind, a Commander’s vision becomes clear.

A Commander with a Vision must recruit soldiers to a noble and just Cause.

Begin recruiting. As generals recruit soldiers to fight for them, we must recruit our minds and bodies, awaken our faculties to Take Up a Cause. The Cause is everything – it has to be. You might be asked to give your life for it.

– The Warpath

The recruitment of which I speak is (of course) a metaphor for the building of muscle and literal recruitment of muscle fibers to accomplish the task set before us. Once recruited, our muscles must be trained vigorously just as a military unit – only our training will consist of proper nutrition, structural integrity of the body, and also strengthening and conditioning.

Allow me to introduce you to the troops. I would advise you in their disposition. Behold the “All or Nothing” Law of muscular action.

Essentially the law relates to motor neurons and the muscle fibers affected by the neural signals. If the signal is strong enough, it will activate the entire length of muscle fibers supplied by the single nerve. However, if sufficient stimulus is not provided i.e. if the nervous system cannot or simply does not provide a strong enough neural signal, there will be no activation of the musculature – no contraction of the muscle fibers.

Now, how is it relevant to you and I as Commanders?

It really is all or nothing. Either you put in the work, or you don’t. Either you bring to bear the maximum effort required to change, or you won’t change. And it all begins with the strength of your nervous system.

Our nervous system is responsible for a call to arms. It beckons and organizes human movement at the behest of our minds.

Can it then provide sufficient stimulus to, let’s say, get out of bed when the alarm goes off? Will we get to the gym and lift the weights? Will we sit down to work on our assignments and projects? Will we tend to our family responsibilities and obligations as we should?

Either you will or you won’t. It’s all or nothing.