Many men identify themselves through the work they do, their level of success and position they’ve gained in the hierarchy. In this manner they are responding to a deep hunger to take on large tasks and challenges, accomplish them successfully, and be rewarded in the community by their peers. These needs are primal and hark back to the days when man was a warrior, hunting for food, providing for his family, and fighting wild animals and other enemies.

When there are not external enemies to take on, or large tasks to accomplish, internal enemies raise their heads, illusory insults, losses and fears obsess the mind, and men fight randomly, without purpose. Road rage grows, wives are beaten, gangs erupt into violence. In the case of true physical danger, such as during war, these disparate elements in man’s psyche become focused, and are mobilized against an acceptable external cause.

For many men, work is war. They are there to slay dragons, prove their prowess and their ability to keep themselves and their families alive. Some men become “external” warriors, focusing on conquests in the outside world; others become “internal” warriors, slaying demons that attack from within. These internal warriors would agree with the quote by Taisen Desimaru, Zen Master and Martial Arts Expert: “Any conflict, whether it takes place within the body and mind, or outside them, is always a battle against the Self.”