Taking Responsibility Like a Warrior
Why Musashi banned resentment and complaint
This Musashi quote cuts deeper the longer you sit with it:
“Resentment and complaint are appropriate neither for oneself nor others.”
At first it sounds harsh. But there’s hidden mercy here: resentment isn’t just useless, it’s self-sabotage in disguise.
Here’s the warrior’s reality check: Resentment is like bailing water from a leaky boat.
Every minute spent complaining is stolen from actually solving the problem.
Musashi understood that warriors drown in what they blame.
Modern science confirms this: habitual complaining physically rewires your brain, shrinking problem-solving regions while training you to spot ever more problems until it becomes a crippling reflex.
Yet here’s the paradox: the moment you stop blaming external factors, something remarkable happens.
The obstacles that seemed so large begin to shrink as your internal power grows.
Suddenly, options and solutions appear where before you saw only dead ends.
So here's 3 ways to rewire your mind to take charge of your life
The “No Weather” Rule
Treat obstacles like weather—not personal, not permanent. Focus only on your response.
Energy Accounting
For one week, track:
- Time spent complaining vs. fixing
- Mental bandwidth recovered
The Samurai’s Pause
When frustrated, ask: “What would the version of me who’s already solved this do next?”
I’ve applied this to my personal life. Within weeks, my “problem” list transformed into a “progress” tracker.
Where is resentment currently costing you more than the original offense?
P.S. Musashi’s Dokkōdō bans complaint entirely. His logic? A sword stays sharp by cutting, not by complaining it’s not sharp enough.