The Lion Mentality is one of aggression and focus.
“And the king gave the command, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions—them, their children, and their wives; and the lions overpowered them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the den.”
Daniel 6:24
When children are learning about the story of Daniel in the Old Testament, they always learn two basic lessons.
- Daniel prayed three times per day (Daniel 6:10) and did so even though he knew there would be consequences for praying to or worshiping anyone but King Darius (6:7-8).
- Daniel was tossed in the den of lions but God closed the mouths of the lions and Daniel lived (6:21-22).
What children don’t learn or perhaps gloss over is a very important lesson that can be taken from the end of the chapter. And it is not merely a lesson, but a principle or an attitude that can be learned even from the animal kingdom through the Biblical lens. The principle comes from the selected verse of the day: the enemies of Daniel who plotted against him were taken and thrown in the lion’s den along with all of their family members. And the lions shattered their bones before they ever reached the bottom of the den – that is the epic ending of Daniel’s foes.
The aggression of the lions is what Men should seek to embody in their own lives.
Masculine Men possess a spirit that assaults all obstacles and crushes all opposing forces “before they can even reach the bottom of the den”. This philosophy is the opposite of procrastination. The Lion mindset is incredibly aggressive and is founded on the fast paced offensive maneuvering that all men should strive to employ in their lives.
King Darius likely had his lions starved or at the least fed them only intermittently, therefore anything that resembled food would be attacked and destroyed in an instant if it entered the den. So then men must also be hungry for personal improvement and success in their own life. Men must aggressively attack their own weaknesses and “shatter their bones”.
Mantra
I have the Lion Mindset and attack all obstacles with ferocity.
Application
These lions represent the spirit of the aggressive mentality.
The Lion Mentality is one that attacks problems before they are even problems, while they are still in the incubation stage and forces solutions onto them.
The mindset also seeks out tasks and completes them in advance, far before any deadlines need to be met.
You must be this way in your own life. When you know something must be done, you instantly attack it with violent aggression and destroy the task.
If you are in school or college, you must view yourself as a lion just waiting for a task to be tossed at you. The second you know about an assignment, you must attack it and work on it until it is finished. If you have a week to finish an assignment, finish it today. If you have a month to finish an assignment, finish it in five days maximum. You will feel a sense of pride and satisfaction in yourself that is only possible through intense, focused work.
The same thing can be done in your work.
If you are accustomed to taking a full day to produce one widget, take on the aggressive mindset and produce two widgets. Then make three and four widgets until you are the most productive person in your department. Then start your own business with your newfound aggression and work ethic and stop renting your time to the highest bidder.
You must also apply the same principles to your relationships with friends and significant others or marriage. If a problem comes up in the relationship, hit it early and quickly. Do not allow problems to fester and grow because of procrastination.
The Lion mentality can destroy Parkinson’s Law – which states, “work expands to fill the time given to complete it”.
Which simply means that if a normal man is given a week to finish a task, it will take the entire week even though it likely could have been completed in a few hours had he concentrated on it. Parkinson’s law outlines procrastination. But by applying the Lion Mindset you can short-circuit that law and be more productive than you have in the past.
Conduct Yourselves Like Men.