Life isn’t easy.

There aren’t many statements truer than that.

This isn’t a new idea. The author Ryan Holiday often speaks about approaching both victory and defeat with the same attitude, maintaining a stillness that comes from within.

I like the idea of a citadel, a fortress that appears impenetrable, something you’d think twice about attacking. Life attacks us, but it’s not personal. Good and bad things happen to everyone. The best we can do is fight back, not with bitterness, but by accepting what life throws at us and responding in kind.

How do we do that?

There’s a beauty in controlled aggression, the kind of intensity you sometimes see in sport. We are drawn to acts of will and strength in all their forms. Aggression often conjures images of violence, but that’s not what I mean. I mean the kind of determination that recognises what’s at stake and refuses to bow to the odds.

Life will throw all sorts of challenges at you. Sometimes, you need to throw something back. One of the best ways to do that is by building an inner citadel, understanding that what’s within you is the key to overcoming what’s outside.

No one knows when or how adversity will appear, but it is certain. And it will demand an answer. Some challenges arise from pursuits you’ve chosen; others come unexpectedly. But an answer will be required.

Will you build that inner citadel, stand firm, and declare that you are unshaken?