A Warrior's Approach To Managing Your Personal Energy
Or, Bill Wilson Was A... Toltec?
What does a Toltec warrior have in common with Bill Wilson, the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous?
At first glance, probably not much.
A warrior from an ancient Mesoamerican spiritual tradition, and a businessman-turned-recovery icon from the 1930s? Different worlds, right?
And yet, when you look closely at the wisdom each tradition offers — the Toltec teachings of energy management, and the guidance from AA’s Big Book — a surprising truth emerges:
Both paths revolve around becoming a steward of your own personal energy.
Both recognize that the real battle isn't "out there."
The real battle is within — with our own thinking.
The Art of Living: What It Means to Be a Warrior
In the Toltec tradition, life is art.
The word "Toltec" translates to artist or artisan. To live as a Toltec is to recognize that life itself is your masterpiece — a mosaic you build moment by moment.
A central figure in Toltec teachings is the spiritual warrior — not a warrior who fights others, but a warrior who fights the only real enemy: the undisciplined mind.
A warrior’s job is simple but profound:
Conserve energy.
Manage the mind.
Engage life with efficiency, clarity, and purpose.
To live like a warrior is to realize that every thought, every action, every emotional reaction either adds to or depletes your energy.
And it is energy — not time, not money, not even intelligence — that determines whether you can grow, heal, and experience transformation.
Energy Management 101: The 55-Gallon Drum
Imagine you have a 55-gallon drum inside you, filled with energy at the start of each day.
Every action you take — even just ordinary thinking — drains a little from that drum.
Negative behaviors and emotions (resentment, anger, worry, laziness) punch holes in the drum and drain energy faster.
On the flip side, positive actions (kindness, discipline, moments of mindfulness, keeping your living space clean, reconnecting with nature) fill the drum and create a surplus of energy. And that’s important.
A warrior’s number one priority is to be a steward of his or her own energy.
To protect their surplus.
Because it’s only from a surplus of energy that real growth, spiritual insight, and "miraculous" experiences arise.
No surplus = no transformation.
We want to figure out this business of maintaining positive supply of energy.
And it starts with—our thinking.
The Practice: Observe and Respond
The warrior’s practice in the face of life’s chaos is two simple steps:
Observe.
Respond.
The key here is leaving out the additional step we are so prone include in there. And that would be thinking— in between the Observe → Respond sequence.
Not: Observe → Judge → React.
Not: Observe → Panic → Spiral into worry.
Just: Observe → Respond.
(I frequently find myself describing the “respond” part as doing the next right thing. Just do the next right thing.
When you observe reality without adding a layer of judgment ("this isn’t fair," "this shouldn’t be happening"), you conserve your energy.
When you respond skillfully, without unnecessary drama, you stay efficient.
Judgment burns energy. Acceptance preserves it.
It’s not passive resignation: In some cases it’s strategic survival. In other cases, it’s… magic.
The Warrior With the Bow and Arrow
Picture this:
You're a Toltec warrior out on the battlefield.
You see the enemy coming over the hill, armed with machine guns.
And you’ve got a bow and arrow.
Right there, in that instant, you have a decision to make. And how you handle that moment could decide everything.
One option:
You start judging: This isn’t fair! I wasn’t told they’d have machine guns! This shouldn’t be happening!"
You stomp your feet and throw a tantrum—as you cling to your idea of how it was supposed to be.
Meanwhile, the clock is ticking. You’re still standing there.
And while you’re wasting precious seconds on judgment and outrage... you’re getting mowed down.
The warrior who survives — the warrior who wins — does something radically different:
Observe: Machine guns. Bow and arrow. Big disadvantage.
Respond: Get out of there. Fast.
No judgment. No panic. No wasting energy.
Just swift, efficient action. Because they know that burning energy on judgment is death. They know their number one job is to conserve energy, move efficiently, and survive.
And the irony?
It’s in that total lack of wasted thinking — that clear, almost instinctive flow of observe → respond — that warriors tap into their highest abilities.
At this point, I always picture a Samurai or Ninja — effortlessly leaping up a cliff or moving faster than you can blink. That’s the kind of magic that happens when you’re operating from pure “observe → respond."
It’s the same reason elite athletes move "in the zone."
They’re fully in the moment.
They’re efficient.
And life rewards that kind of efficiency.
Sound Familiar? Enter Bill Wilson.
Now let's shift gears.
What does all this have to do with Alcoholics Anonymous?
In AA’s Big Book, there’s a popular section — "pages 86–88" — that offers a guide for managing our thinking and spiritual condition throughout one 24-hour period.
Here are a few key suggestions from that section:
Start the day by checking your motives.
The actual text says, "We ask God to direct our thinking; that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonesty, or self-seeking motives."(Quick note: If you're someone who doesn't connect with the "God" language, no problem — just think of it as keeping your mind free from self-pity, dishonesty, or self-centeredness. It's about mental energy, not theology.)
"We relax and take it easy. We don't struggle."
Huge. This one sentence saves so much energy for me. Just let go. Don’t "cling," as our friends the Buddhists say, which leads to "suffering."
Wearing life like a loose garment frees me up from wasting mental energy.
Here’s where things get interesting: the section closes with a succession of directives — and what we might expect as the result of sticking to this procedure:
Pause when agitated or doubtful and ask for the right thought or action.
Constantly remind yourself: "I'm not running the show."
Humbly say many times a day: "Thy will be done." (Again, for the atheist or agnostic, I simply suggest "let go, go with the flow.")
It then says — that as a result of following this procedure — we will be in "less danger of excitement, fear, anger, worry, self-pity, or foolish decisions."
Less danger of those things.
Evidently, those are things to be avoided.
Then it says something really interesting:
"We become more efficient. We do not tire so easily. For we are no longer burning up energy foolishly as we were when we were trying to run the show."
Sound familiar?
It’s the Toltec warrior’s entire game plan, right there in the Big Book.
Bill Wilson, knowingly or unknowingly, captured an ancient truth:
If you waste your energy trying to control life, you suffer.
If you align with life and steward your mind, you thrive.
In short:
Bill Wilson was a Toltec!
Or at least, he sure talked like one.
Efficiency is the New Enlightenment
Neither the Big Book nor Toltec wisdom promise that you’ll never face pain, confusion, or temptation.
Both traditions instead promise something much more powerful:
If you stop burning your energy on unnecessary battles,
If you become efficient with your inner resources,
If you align yourself with a larger flow beyond your personal control…
You’ll be able to live fully, skillfully, and sometimes even joyfully — no matter what comes.
In a world obsessed with "more" — more effort, more struggle, more hustle — the real miracle is this:
Energy management IS spiritual development.
It’s not about doing more.
It’s about wasting less.
That’s the warrior’s path.
That’s the recovering person’s path.
And that’s the path available to you, right now, today.
Tend your drum.
Protect your surplus.
Become an artist of your own life.
Become a warrior.
I’d love to hear your thoughts:
Where have you noticed your own mind draining your energy? What are some of the most common ways this happens for you?
And what helps you shift back into a more efficient, "observe → respond" state when life throws something unexpected at you?
PERSONAL COACHING
Struggling with sobriety?
Sober, but something missing?
Tired of the same old "program" talk?
If you're working on becoming more efficient with your energy — or you're looking for a more grounded, transformational approach to recovery and personal growth — I offer 1:1 coaching that integrates the best of both worlds:
✅ 12-step recovery principles
✅ Wisdom traditions like Toltec teachings and warrior training
It's about learning to manage your mind, protect your energy, and step fully into the life you're meant to live — sober, strong, and fully alive.
Interested in working together?
👉 Click here to learn more about coaching with me: The Journey To Recovery
Really enjoyed this essay, Jim. Much to discuss.