Three warrior mantras I use from The Art of War

The Art of War encapsulates a philosophy of life for dealing with challenges you may be facing. While the book is complex, Sun Tzu offers us important reminders, or mantras, for how we can grow in our ability to face these challenges.

The following are three key mantras that I try to keep in mind as I deal with life's many challenges.

1. "Know thy enemy, know thyself."
2. "No gain, no action. No danger,  no battle."
3. "Avoid the strong, attack the weak."

Let's go in depth with each mantra.

Mantra 1: "Know thy enemy, know thyself"
This comes from Sun Tzu's most famous line in The Art of War. The full passage is: "Know the other, know the self, and in one hundred battles, you will not be in danger."

For Sun Tzu, victory in warfare comes not from willpower or perseverance or luck. It comes from knowledge. Knowledge of your enemy and knowledge of yourself. One gains this knowledge through intelligence and analysis.

In life, we do not spend enough time understanding the challenges we face and how we contribute to our situation. We complain when things don't go our way, or we celebrate when things do. Increasing your sense of control over your life starts with understanding the daily battles you face and your place in them.

Improving your relationship with your spouse starts with understanding what divides you two and how you've played into that.

Improving your status at work starts with understanding what is keeping you from advancing as well as your weaknesses and strengths.

Overcoming anxiety starts with understanding what anxiety is and how you've constructed a life that allows for anxiety to overwhelm you.

Facing the challenges in your life starts with shining some light on them - looking at them and examining them. Once you know them deeply, you can develop a plan of action for dealing with them.

Mantra 2: "No gain, no action. No danger,  no battle."
This mantra comes from the twelfth chapter in The Art of War. The full passage goes like this:

"If there is no advantage, do not move. If there is nothing to gain, do not mobilize. If there is no danger, do not fight. The ruler may not, from anger, dispatch soldiers. The general may not, from resentment, seek to fight. If engaging to take an advantage, then move. If not, then stop."

Here Sun Tzu reminds us of a key principle in warfare: every action has a cost. The only costs really worth taking are the ones where you can gain from it. In this way, The Art of War is not simply a book about winning. It's about making winning pay. It's about winning in a way that you are better off than you were before.

For Sun Tzu, taking action without understanding what you will gain from doing so, or fighting with someone without something being threatened, is a waste of valuable resources that could be used to improve your situation.

This is just as applicable to your life as it is to Sun Tzu's army. We are taught to act, act, act. To not just sit, but to do. To not wait, but take the bull by the horns.

But you don't always have to speak your mind or share your opinion. You don't always have to argue if someone says something you disagree with. You don't always have to take action.

The Sun Tzu Way lies in understanding when to move and when to wait. This is what Sun Tzu calls jie, or timing.

Mantra 3:  "Avoid the strong, attack the weak"
This mantra comes from the sixth chapter on "Emptiness and Fullness." The full passage is as follows:

"The army's positioning is like water. Just as water avoids the high and rushes to the low, an army's positioning avoids the strong and rushes to the weak."

For Sun Tzu, victory in war comes not from defeating an enemy in battle. It doesn't come from advanced skill in fighting. True victory comes from applying strength against weakness. It comes from uniting your forces where the enemy is unprepared. It comes from taking the unexpected line of attack.

Sun Tzu's philosophy is a philosophy of opportunism. You must see the right opening - a vulnerability in the market, a chance for you to gain recognition - and seize it as quickly as possible. The secret to winning is never to win where it is tough, but where victory can be easily gained. As Sun Tzu tells us, "Those skilled warriors of the past won where it was easy to win. Therefore, the victory of a skilled warrior is neither 'brilliant' nor 'bravely achieved.'"

You must always prepare yourself for seizing opportunities and moving into openings. Success is not about being the best, the most aggressive, or even the most intelligent. It is about taking advantage of what is offered you and using it to serve your purpose.