The Game of Life: College Edition Will and intellect

Recently, I got to listen to a former Marine and football player from Villanova talk about leadership. He spoke about character and reflection. He also informed us on how we should be leading by example, and ‘practicing what we preach.’ Most of these things I had heard before, but he also shared with us a quote that is used in the Marines quite frequently. “Intellect without will is worthless, and will without intellect is dangerous.” This quote stuck with me. It means if you think about all of these great ideas, but never take action on them, then it’s not really worth much. On the flip side, if you take action without thinking, you might end up in a worse situation than you were in before. We were discussing this in an athletic setting, but it can be applied to life. Having the idea to better yourself is great, but it’s only effective if you actively work on it. If you set out to achieve a goal, you need to have a plan to get there, instead of just going at it blindly. I’m guilty of both sides in everyday life, and have been working on getting better in those aspects and it has really been making a difference. That quote put everything that my team and I have been dealing with, both on and off the field, into words. Apply this quote to your job, your relationships and most importantly, yourself. Think about the situations you may be in, and see if you are using both will and intellect, or just focusing on one or the other. Using this phrase could make your self-growth journey easier to navigate. It’s definitely helped me.