Sun Tzu wrote, There are five dangerous faults which may affect a general: recklessness, cowardice, a hasty temper, a delicacy of honor, and over-solicitude for his men.

This isn’t just military doctrine — this is a mirror. These five traits don’t just take down generals; they take down anyone in a position of responsibility. They’re human weaknesses that can burn entire missions to the ground if left unchecked. And here’s the hard truth: every one of us carries some of them.

Recklessness — moving without thought, mistaking speed for progress. It feels bold. It even looks brave. But it’s a gamble, and gambles don’t care about how much heart you put in; they pay out or they don’t. If you’re charging without knowing the terrain, you’re not courageous — you’re careless. Strategy demands courage with calculation. You take risks, but you take smart ones.

Cowardice — not the absence of courage, but the surrender of it. It’s letting fear dictate movement, letting the possibility of pain outweigh the mission. It’s the quiet killer of dreams — not with a bang, but with a slow retreat from every edge that mattered. To win, you have to step anyway. You can be afraid, but you cannot let fear command you.

A hasty temper — the ambush you set for yourself. Anger blinds you. It makes you predictable. It hands control of your next move to the person who triggered it. You think you’re striking back; in reality, you’re reacting — and reaction is the enemy of command. The general who cannot keep his cool loses battles he should have won.

A delicacy of honor — pride dressed up as virtue. It’s the need to save face, to defend ego, to fight battles just to prove a point. It feels righteous in the moment but often drags you off mission, draining energy on things that don’t matter. Strength isn’t about defending your name at every insult; it’s about winning the war and letting the noise die in your wake.

Over-solicitude for your men — compassion out of balance. Caring is a leader’s strength, but overprotecting can paralyze a team. Shielding everyone from hardship doesn’t build resilience; it builds dependency. Great leaders equip people to face danger, not hide them from it. The mission demands both care and clarity: you love your people enough to prepare them, not shelter them.

These five faults are universal traps. They’re not signs of weakness; they’re reminders of the cost of being human in positions that demand something greater. The art is not in pretending you’re immune — it’s in mastering yourself daily. Checking your impulses. Asking before acting. Guarding your mind when pride, fear, or anger try to seize the wheel.

Every mission, every dream, every battle worth fighting will test you with these five. And every time you choose discipline over impulse, clarity over noise, mission over ego — you prove you’re not just on the field; you’re in command of it.

Lead yourself like a general, and no war — inside or out — can break you.

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