If you’ve heard me say it once, you’ve heard me say it a thousand times. You are a warrior. Everyone is born a warrior. And though you may not feel like it, you are a warrior every day. Based on my research on warriorness (it’s a word now), there are five types of warriors. These may change throughout your life or depending on your current life situation.
What is the warrior spirit?
The warrior spirit can be described as your most authentic self. It’s the voice inside of you that says ‘yes’ in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. The force inside you takes action, even when you’re unsure what to do. And when it’s fully engaged, the warrior spirit allows us to manifest our dreams.
Sometimes it can feel like life is doing the absolute most, and your inner warrior has left you. The good news, it hasn’t gone anywhere. It waits to be called forward. Here are the five types of warriors and what you can do to call them forward.
The Storm
Being the storm sounds like you would be destructive. You are two things in one. People probably often come to you in a crisis to ask your advice. They see you as the calm in the storm. Level-headed and full of practical ideas. Where crisis may be a challenge for others, as the storm warrior, you often emerge victorious.
The other thing storms do is clear a path for creation. Disruption is often unpleasant, but the positive side of it is the new things that can grow in its place. As The Storm, you embrace the suck of change because you know something special can be created on the other side. But it takes a visionary with the courage to make a change to bring out the best in situations and others.
Your gift, as the storm, is your sheer force of will coupled with your calm disposition. What activates your warrior spirit is feeling needed and challenged.
The Builder
As a Builder warrior, you are driven by what’s possible. Not only do you generate ideas, but you know how to architect a solution to make the idea a reality. People often come to you to help them solve problems or create executable plans. They recognize your ability to connect the dots. And when there isn’t a way, you will find a way.
Legacy is important to you. Yes, you build because you like to see the tangible results of your efforts. And you also want to be recognized for your creations, especially when they are exceptional or stand the test of time.
The Builder’s gift is having a box of tools you know how and when to use. You’re likely a multipotentialite with interests that may seem disconnected to others but not to you. What activates your inner warrior is collaboration, innovation, and legacy.
The Defender
The Defender warrior is focused on the protection of others. Whether it is you doing the protecting or advocating for the protection of others, you can be found watching over the tribe. You are driven by what’s just and fair. A person doesn’t need to be in your family to protect them. Your tribe is anyone you feel a connection to, regardless of them being family, a colleague, a direct report, or a stranger you empathize with.
You probably believe that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Like the Builder, you crave collaboration and building something that serves a greater good. Your sense of right and wrong is relatively black and white, but you have an open mind to hear other perspectives.
The Defender’s gift is being a soldier for what you believe in. The phrase “If you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything” probably resonates with you a lot. The warrior in you becomes activated when you feel a sense of togetherness and high loyalty,
The Phoenix Rising
As the name suggests, no fire will keep you down as a Phoenix Rising warrior. You are undeterred by the ashes of your past. You wear your scars like battle armor, daring a new challenger to try you. Or, as they say in the South, mess around and find out.
There is no weapon you will not wield. But you manage your energy well. You don’t give energy to anger or spite. Instead, you redirect your precious energy to those things that serve you. And in so doing, you are an inspiration to others. You see life as happening for you, not to you.
The gift of the Phoenix Rising is that you possess massive amounts of grit you aren’t afraid to share with others. But you balance that grit with vulnerability and wisdom. Your warrior spirit is activated by a battle with a foe. The foe can be a person, a thing, or a mindset challenge. After the battle is done, you require considerable reflection time.
The Servant
It’s easy to guess that the Servant warrior thinks in terms of ‘us’ before ‘I.’ You carefully consider how your actions or decisions would impact others. And even when you make a decision that may hurt others, you try to make the landing a little softer.
You are likely a leader of some sort that believes your success comes through the success of others. This doesn’t mean you don’t follow your pursuits or revel in your wins. You’ll likely bring others along for the ride or share your best practices to make it easier for others.
Your gift is your mindset, heart posture, and can-do attitude. You enjoy seeing others win and cheering for them. The Servant warrior is activated by being alone to recharge. Servants are probably also empathic, which is both fulfilling and draining.
We are all warriors—every day. The only remarkable thing you need to do is be you. Remember that your warrior hasn’t gone anywhere. Sometimes, in the busyness of life, we forget to call on our warrior spirit to step in and take over.
Take the warrior-type quiz to find out what type of warrior you are and how to get the best out of yourself through specific mindset shifts.
