Marines are by nature a very confident bunch. This is trained into them at an early age and it can be incorporated into your life as well. Take to heart the lessons I've covered in the past and use them to practically effect your current situation. If you want your life to end up where you want it to, you have to take charge of it. Marines call this Shaping the Action or Shaping the Battle. You have obstacles and enemies in your life that are seeking to destroy you. It would be much better to fight them on your terms than on theirs.
They key to doing this is to project your thoughts ahead through time and space. Where is your enemy and how is he most likely to attack you? What powers does he have to hold on to in order to damage you? How can that force be expended against non-essential areas so that he has nothing when he meets your strength? These are the questions that will lead to actions that shape the battle in your favor.
This means you need to get a plan! Now, many of you might point out previous statements I've made about Marines excelling in impromptu actions. There's also one of our favorite sayings, “Why plan when you can react?” Here's the secret: Because we naturally take charge of situations, which leads us to naturally begin shaping the battlefield as soon as we get wind of an enemy, we routinely take actions that lead to our benefit and our enemy's demise.
I'm telling you, you'd really hate to be our enemy. It is not conducive to a long and happy life.
