Understanding one of the most important skills of a Japanese warrior, or “samurai”, can improve our daily life, including our attitude towards apparently unsolvable issues.
This skill is called “gaman”, a word that can be translated as “patience”, “endurance”, “perseverance” and which deals with the capacity of living “without complaint whatever problem may throw in your path”.
“Gaman” is a fundamental aspect of the samurai’s code of life, or “bushido”, but it is not necessary to fully practice this tough philosophy in order to experiment a truly fulfilling “gaman attitude”.
Broadly speaking, something similar can be found even in Western societies: ancient Romans, for instance, used to practice self-conditioning by following the stoical conduct of enduring hardship without a word of complaint.
Nevertheless, it is even unnecessary to face pain or disasters in order to experiment “gaman”.
In fact, a simple and achievable “gaman-ese” code of conduct can be summed up by 5 tips, useful to face our daily issues:
1- Stay consistent
2 – Set small goals for yourself, and achieve them
3- Take your time
4- Be human, with dignity
5 – Breathe!
More about GAMAN here
Image Source: Flickr – Alliance russe (CC BY 2.0)