Is Killer Instinct Essential for Success?

“To achieve admiration and respect today, the warrior must set himself apart from the rest of society by his personal excellence. Where warriorship was once a birthright, it is now a calling.” —Living the Martial Way



What is Killer Instinct?

“I live on my gut instinct.” - Melanie Brown

Killer instinct is a strong will to win and an urge to succeed unmindful of the consequences for others. It is a fighting spirit. It is not flight but fight to the finish. It is demonstrates ‘do or die’ scenario. It is a combative and competitive mentality to win at any cost.

The killer instinct is confluence of courage, confidence, competence, fortitude, resilience and tenacity. It is combination of physical, mental and spiritual powers. Doing something even if the odds are insurmountable requires killer instinct. It is like having guts to try again whether you succeed or fail. It is like exploring the unknown without any fear of failure. At the same time, killer instinct does not mean being ferocious and careless in your approach. It outlines calculated strategy to maximize efficiency, effectiveness and safety.


How to develop killer instinct?

“I usually go with the first instinct, and then build upon that.” - John Otto

To develop killer instinct, people should shed some of their old habits. In military organizations, soldiers are trained to shed unwarranted habits and practices so that they can evolve themselves as successful and competent combatants. Therefore, it is obvious that killer instinct can be taught through right ambience and training. Killer instinct is a mindset that can be cultivated and inculcated.

• Always be in the effective zone not in the comfort zone.
• Know your strengths and weaknesses and also your opponent’s weaknesses.
• Don’t be overconfident as overconfidence is the worst enemy.
• Don’t be unduly sentimental and emotional. Strike a right balance and maintain composure with maturity.
• Be passionate in your chosen area of interest.
• Always be cool and composed.
• Avoid both internal and external distractions and stay focused on your goals.


Characteristics of killer instinct:

“Ideas pull the trigger, but instinct loads the gun.” - Don Marquis

Here are a few characteristics of killer instinct such as cool and composed thinking, physical and mental intelligence, fortitude, courage, gut feeling and intuition, ability to anticipate others’ strategy, resilience and tenacity, being always in effective zone rather than in comfort zone.


Conclusion:

“And so you touch this limit, something happens and you suddenly can go a little bit further. With your mind power, your determination, your instinct, and the experience as well, you can fly very high.” - Ayrton Senna

Killer instinct is a quality we all need whether in life or in work. It helps in conquering the unknown. It will make you nose in the face of difficulty and set out to accomplish your dreams even if it means facing the risk of failure. Although killer instinct is an innate trait but people can cultivate a few skills and abilities that collectively give rise to killer instinct. We find entrepreneurs, sportspersons, soldiers and leaders across various sections achieving success by leading from front with killer instinct.

It is a well admitted fact that we all have killer instinct but the intensity varies from person to person. There is no doubt that killer instinct is essential for achieving success in your life. Therefore, demonstrate your killer instinct and come out with flying colors in all your endeavors.


The End