The Enemies Within

Thousands of years ago, sages looked at human ambition and realised a fundamental truth that the greatest battles of humans are not fought against the enemies outside, but within the mind.

The Panchatantra and the Mahabharatha mention this:

षड् दोषाः पुरुषेणेह हातव्या भूतिमिच्छता । 

निद्रा तन्द्रा भयं क्रोधः आलस्यं दीर्घसूत्रता ॥ 

Ṣaḍ doṣāḥ puruṣeṇeha hātavyā bhūtimicchatā | 

Nidrā tandrā bhayaṃ krodhaḥ ālasyaṃ dīrghasūtratā || 

This means that ‘"One who wishes to prosper in this world should get rid of the following six faults: too much sleep, lethargy, fear, anger, laziness, and procrastination". That is, prosperity and success are mostly achieved by conquering our internal roadblocks rather than any external enemies.

Sleep is essential for health. But the Nidra that is mentioned in this particular Sanskrit verse means excessive sleep which is used as a psychological escape mechanism. That is when the going gets tough, the nap or the crawl back to the bed, is just a means to avoid reality. For this, the best fix is to establish a disciplined sleep routine. Sleep is important for recovery, but it is not a hiding place for our responsibilities.

Tandra is lethargy. It is the state of being half-asleep and half-awake, where the mind refuses to lock in. The fix for this is very simple - change your physical state. Motion creates emotion and when lethargy hits the best thing to do is do a physical activity that floods the brain with oxygen.

Bhayam is fear. That is the emotion that plays on our insecurities and tries to keep us safely tucked inside our comfort zone. For this, the fix is to shift the perspective from the fear of failure to the fear of regret. Failing at something is just an iteration to improve, whereas the fear of regret is permanent and cannot be changed.

Krodhah is anger. This emotion burns through rational thought and destroys relationships and drains our energy. And more importantly, remember that when you react in anger, you hand over the control of your life to the person or thing that triggered you. The fix for this is when you're triggered, pause and step back. React only after the intense energy of anger passes you.

Laziness or Ālasyam is not making an effort. While lethargy is a lack of energy, laziness is the lack of will. The fix for this is to break up the project into smaller points and not to think about the entire project. Focus on one thing at a time and complete it.

Dirghasutrata is procrastination. Literally translated dirghasutrata means prolonging a task. This is delaying what needs to be done until an imaginary or perfect situation arises. Procrastination is the killer of momentum. The fix for this is that for smaller tasks, do it immediately. For larger projects, stick to an internal deadline and hold yourself accountable.

Every single one of these flaws is internal and overcoming them will empower us.

These texts do not list these faults to judge us, instead they list them to free us. 

So conquer the enemies within and the world outside will take care of itself.