The Five Virtues of the Sun Tzu Way

 "Therefore, advancing not to seek glory, withdrawing not to avoid shame - but only to protect the people and benefit the ruler - [such a general] is the nation's treasure."
- Sun Tzu

For many people reading The Art of War, they believe that the text is about how to defeat an enemy with deception and trickery - that is, how to play "dirty." For Sun Tzu, however, the cost of warfare - not in simply in terms of money, but in terms of valuable lives of soldiers and citizens - is too high not to use whatever means one can to avoid battle and overcome conflict. As Sun Tzu tells us later, "A destroyed nation cannot return. Those who are dead cannot come back to life."

This is why Sun Tzu believes that only virtuous leaders can effectively use what some may consider "dirty" tactics - deception and espionage - in order to achieve victory. Without a strong sense of purpose (Tao) from the ruler and a strong general (Jiang) whose sole objective is to make sure the nation is protected and secure, the army and the nation will be in grave danger.

In your life, the same principle is true. Your ability to lead yourself is key to maintaining a sense of confidence, peace, security, and happiness - what Sun Tzu calls an. But in order to do this effectively, you need to cultivate key traits, or virtues, that will allow you to make the right decisions at the right time with confidence.

For Sun Tzu, a strong effective leader exhibits five key traits:

1. Wisdom
2. Credibility
3. Compassion
4. Discipline
5. Courage

These five traits are critical. For Sun Tzu, any deficiency in even one of them can lead to disaster. In your own life, this is also the case. Try to advance in life without cultivating these virtues, and you'll find yourself having a difficult life.

Let's take a look at each virtue below, including practices for how you can cultivate each virtue in your own life. (These are practices that I try to incorporate into my own life.)

Wisdom
For Sun Tzu, wisdom (zhi) is essential for making strategic decisions. It involves the ability to know not only what action to take, but when to take action.

In your own life, there are a few ways to cultivate wisdom:

1. Learning from experience. This means analyzing your own experiences as well as the experiences of others. Whenever you deal with a problem or challenge, record how you addressed it. Was it effective? Could you have addressed it better? In addition, talk to or read about other people who have solved similar issues or been through similar challenges. How did they solve it? Would it work for you?
2. Seeking to understand. Try not to dismiss what someone says just because you disagree. Strive to ask questions to delve deeper into that person's thinking. Read or listen to different perspectives on a subject.
3. Admitting ignorance. I try to never assume I am the smartest person in the room. I always assume that the person I'm talking to knows a lot more than I do about something important, and that I can learn from him or her. 

Credibility
For Sun Tzu, credibility (xin) is essential to leading an army. If the soldiers do not trust you, they will not risk their lives for you. As a general, you have to demonstrate that you are trustworthy - that you keep your word.

In your own life, try to follow these three practices in developing credibility:

1. Keeping your word. Try your best to keep promises that you make. Pay attention to your actions, making sure that they align with your words.
2. Be a good confidante. Be someone others can trust with their thoughts and feelings. Resist passing judgment on people, but always give your honest opinion.
3. Speak from experience. No one likes someone who preaches to them. Use "I" statements; tell people how you dealt with something or how you feel, without telling others how you think they should act.

Compassion
For Sun Tzu, the general must have compassion (ren) in order to lead his soldiers and serve as protector of the people. The virtuous general sees the humanity in everyone, including his enemies, which is a very important reason why Sun Tzu values winning without battle. As such, only a compassionate general can use deception, since his ultimate aim is not to destroy the enemy, but to halt his will to fight.

In your own life, to be an effective leader of yourself and others, you need to cultivate compassion for others as well as yourself. The following are a few ways to do this:

1. See All Under Heaven as one family. This is a phrase that comes from Confucius. It means that all of us are imperfect, yet ever-growing beings, deserving of love, support, and understanding. In that way, we are but one family, operating under the same human condition.
2. View your happiness as worth protecting. The general's primary role is not to prove his skill in battle. It's not to destroy the enemy. His role is to protect the people and their interests, their way of life, their Tao. Likewise, you must view your happiness and well-being as worth protecting. You are the general of your life to protect your well-being and secure your growth, because the better you are doing, the better you'll be able to contribute to society at large. This is worth guarding.

Courage
In warfare, it is obvious that courage (yong) is an essential virtue to cultivate. For Sun Tzu, the general must be willing not simply to fight in battle, but to throw his soldiers, for whom he cares as if they were his own children, into harm's way, so that they unite together in defeating the enemy.

You, too, need the courage to take action in the face of uncertainty. If you want to advance your situation and overcome the daily challenges in your life, you need to have the courage to make tough decisions - to have tough conversations. It is not easy, and I am first to admit that this virtue is hard for me. But the following are some practices to help cultivate courage in your own life:

1. Calculating the dangers of not taking action. Most people think about the consequences of taking a certain action. But just as important is considering the consequences of not taking action. What will happen if you decide not to have that difficult, yet critical conversation? What will happen if you decide not to confront someone's toxic behavior?
2. Developing contingency plans and exit strategies. Sun Tzu's general is constantly making calculations, analyzing his situation, making contingency plans, and trying to remove errors. If you are afraid to take action, then one reassurance is knowing that your plan is as strong as it can be. Give yourself a contingency plan in case Plan A doesn't work out. Try always to have an exit strategy so that you know you are protected.
3. Letting go. At a certain point, you must let your decision up to fate. If you are honest, compassionate, and confident, then the odds are on your side that it will end up okay. It is rare that a decision you make, if you are honest and well-intentioned, is irreversible.

Discipline
Discipline (yan), for Sun Tzu, involves having high standards for oneself as well as one's soldiers. A disciplined general ensures the soldiers stay focused on the task at hand and do not cultivate bad thoughts or habits that would distract them from their mission.

In your own life, you will have many things that will distract you from your overall purpose - from social media to news articles to text messages to TV shows. Indeed, you will also develop thoughts that will distract you - self-defeating thoughts such as "I'm a horrible person," "I will never amount to anything," or procrastinating thoughts such as "I can do that tomorrow," or "I'm not ready yet."

Discipline is about staying focused on completing the important tasks that will serve your overall purpose. This doesn't mean you can't have time for fun or entertainment or enjoyment. Rather, it means that important things are put first.

Like courage, discipline is very hard. I struggle with it as well. The following are some ways I try to cultivate discipline:

1. Implementing systems. The best way to keep focused and disciplined is by developing a system that makes doing the task easy and top of mind. For example, I use a task manager that sends me notifications for when I am to complete important tasks.
2. Thinking in terms of progress. Try not to focus on reaching a goal or target. Rather, try to compare your current results to the time before. What you want is better results than before. Focus on improvement, not achievement.
3. Focusing on consistency, not results. Along with #2, you want to focus less on reaching a target or producing a result than on the actual fact that you committed to doing the activity. If you're trying to improve your piano playing, for example, don't focus on playing a piece perfectly. Focus rather on the amount of time you spent practicing the piece, or the number of times you practiced in the week. Practice consistently, and the results will take care of themselves.