Survivor or Conqueror: A Change in Perspective

When our parents brought us into this world, they did so with the understanding that life is good, but never easy. Everything that the Nornir have woven for us will inevitably have some impact on us—either positive or negative. These events build up and become an integral part of who we are, for better or for worse. However, we can mitigate some of the negative impact by changing the way we think about negative events, the way we react to future events, and even the frame in which we view ourselves.

How we view ourselves in our mind’s eye is so much more important than we might think. We are all something of a “character” in our own heads. Maybe your character is a winner or a loser, a genius or a moron, a warrior or a poet, a champion or a couch potato.

I urge you to think on how you view yourself, and to ask yourself what negative events contributed to this perception of yourself.

When looking at these negative events, do you see them as defeats? As missteps? Or as trials?

If you see unfortunate events in your life as defeats that you simply suffered through, I would encourage you to change that. If you are still here and reading this and standing with the Æsir and the AFA, then you are not defeated. You are more than a survivor, and your mindset must reflect that.

View your negative experiences as trials that you conquered, or at least learned from. Every new day is another chance to grasp victory, to reforge a part of yourself in the fires of struggle.

Shed the “survivor” mindset, the self-pitying and self-fulfilling prophecy! Don the armor of the conqueror, with your loyalty to the Æsir as your weapon! Every day is a mountain to climb and a skill to gain! Your ancestors did not give us this life so that we could merely trudge through it with our heads down!

Goði Trent East

teast@runestone.org