Respect

Today I wanna talk about the 1st Star, the man. 

For those who don't know, basically in this blog the seven stars are:

• The Man - cultivating a powerful self
• The Survivor - persisting and thriving in nature
• The Warrior - hand to hand combat, armed and unarmed
• The Gunfighter - use of firearms in combat
• The Specialist - specific skills to augment combat skills
• The Captain - being a leader of men
• The Strategist - the art of victory

"Self-control is the chief element in self-respect and self-respect is the chief element in courage."

~ Thucydides

I would like to formulate my own version of that idea. I believe, with Respect, comes almost all the virtuous traits. If you respect yourself, you will push yourself to improve, you will not allow yourself to succumb to vices and activities that will ultimately sabotage your health and mind, you will discipline yourself to be honest, diligent, and relentless, and you will have the esteem to have confidence in yourself. With respect for others, you will have loyalty, you will be reliable, responsible, and honest with them. 

In a survival and martial context, this respect is extremely important. Without the self-respect, you will not have the self-motivation to push yourself further and advance your skills, you will not have the drive to survive despite harsh conditions, and when in a life or death situation you will not have the willpower to say "no, fuck you! This ain't how it's going down, I will live and you will die!" Without respect for others, you will not fully understand how to work with the vegetation instead of trying to hack through it all, you will not cherish the successfully hunted animal as fully, you will not be cognizant of when to hold back, and you may not be aware of what is the appropriate level of response. When a man laughs at you, and you grab his arm, break it, throw him to the ground, and stomp on his neck - that's crazy. So is pulling out a pistol and emptying the mag on a man who flirts with your girlfriend, unless he crosses the line take it as a compliment - maybe your girl ain't half bad looking! Hahahahahaa

I understand between the teenage years and the late 30s we're (by modern lifespan standards) young primates, easily made eager to fight over perceived wrongs and use violence socially in big or small ways. It's in (most) our natures to get heated when another person is tryna get with our partners, or to consider responding violently to confrontations - but with enough respect for yourself and others, and being aware of your environment and situation, you can probably improve your life and seriously cut down on bullshit and drama...

Just some thoughts.