There are interesting similarities between war stories and adventures that we have all seen, heard or told. The characters in both of these stories almost always face similar situations.
- Pushing oneself beyond their comfort zone,
- Coping with unknowns, chaos, pressure and anxiety
- Facing life or death situations (the adventure story is not really interesting if it’s not life and death)
The difference between an adventure and a war story is the context.
- On an adventure, the heroes go out into the unknown in search of something of value. It is often a treasure, gold, fountain of youth etc.
- In a war, the heroes are fighting against injustice, they are righteous and fighting against evil in order to destroy it.
Anyone trying to be successful today faces the same situations as our fictional heroes. However, viewing yourself as a character in an adventure story or a war story makes all the difference.
Purpose
Adventurers are inspired by curiosity about the unknown and desire to explore. They are focused on overcoming a significant challenge or finding something of value. You win when you find the gold. Everyone gets a share of the gold.
A warrior is driven by righteousness, morality and / or fear of conquest. They are almost always going against an enemy with a mindset of us vs them. You win only if your opponent loses. It is a zero sum game.
Leadership
The one who knows the land leads the way. He guides the rest by educating them and persuading them to excel. The leader going on an adventure knows the importance of keeping everyone calm in the face of uncertainty and focuses on emotional well being.
The seasoned warrior leads the way. He provides instructions to be followed, expects unquestioned obedience and disciplines anyone who deviates from the orders. Anxiety has no place in the battlefield, you either fight or you die.
Culture
Persuasion is through inspiration. Everyone plays to their strengths and decisions are based on expertise. Leader shows the direction and destination, rest of them figure out how to get there. Focus is on how to get to the destination while optimising your resources.
Persuasion is through authority. Wars are waged by armies and armies need hierarchies. The guy at the top decides the course of action and demands rest of them follow orders. Focus is on minimising losses, not dying, and inflicting maximum damage to the enemy.
Outcome
On successful completion of the journey, the adventurers are hungry for more. They want to take on bigger risks, conquer bigger challenges and go after larger treasures.
Even the group that wins the war is inevitably depleted of resources. They are troubled with PTSD, become pacifists and want to end all wars. There is no net gain, you always end up with less than what you had started with.
Conclusion
War and adventure paradigms are both highly demanding for the characters involved. It is far more inspiring and rewarding to get up in the morning and think of the day as an adventure as opposed to going to war.
What story are you in?
Good article.
Some points to add.
Leadership demands sacrifices and the character to absorb pressure with continuous journey irrespective of ups and downs, appreciations and criticisms. Hence it’s also a kind of a war to be dealt with cool emotions and righteous unbiased mind.