The Viking’s Question: What Are You Really Fighting For?

Table of contents

Prologue - Why Am I doing this ?

He was born to fight.
He learned how to wield a sword like no one else, how to row faster than the wind, and how to conquer cities like a true leader.
He achieved glory like no Viking before him.
He did all these things because that’s what Vikings were meant to do. It was the way of the Viking.

But one day, in the middle of battle, after having slain thousands, he realized that none of it made sense anymore.
Why am I doing all of this? I'm feeling so empty all the time although I have everything, but why?

Lost in that thought, he was defeated by his enemy and taken as a slave.
During that time of suffering, witnessing the horrors of war up close, making his first real friends only to lose them again, he came to a different truth.

What he truly wanted wasn’t more battles.
What he truly longed for was freedom. To escape war, to break the cycle.

With no more enemies left to fight, he chose to fight for something greater than himself:
A real purpose. A place of peace. A land he would call Free Land.

At first, he believed that Free Land was a destination. But what he really found was something deeper. A new direction.
He didn’t know if he would ever reach that land. And maybe it didn’t even matter.
What mattered was that he had stopped living by others’ expectations, and started walking a path he truly believed in.

That was his new fight.
And that’s the beginning of purpose.

What is purpose and why we need it

Purpose sounds cool, doesn’t it? But what does it actually mean, and do we really need it?

Purpose isn’t some mystical or abstract idea. It’s simply having a direction in life, something worth fighting for, something that gives your actions meaning.

Most of us live on autopilot. We work, follow routines, and chase goals that society has told us are “good,” without ever stopping to ask why. Just like the Viking in our prologue, we often do things simply because that’s what’s expected of us. He fought because that’s what Vikings were supposed to do. That’s what his world told him had value.

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why you're doing the things you do each day?

Waking up tired, working without meaning, scrolling endlessly, and wondering at night, “Is this it?”

But after pain, loss, and reflection, the Viking realized what he truly wanted wasn’t war. It was peace. And that’s the turning point many of us face. We wake up one day and realize we’ve been living someone else’s version of a meaningful life.

We must take control. We must fight to define our own version of what matters. When you know what you stand for, it becomes harder to drift away from your path.

Viktor Frankl, a psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, wrote about this in his book Man’s Search for Meaning. He argued that our deepest drive as human beings isn’t pleasure, as Freud claimed, but meaning. This idea became the foundation of what he called logotherapy, from the Greek word logos, meaning “meaning” or “purpose”.

Frankl believed that if a person has a clear “why”, they can endure almost any “how”. And I couldn’t agree more.

Today, many people feel lost. They’re successful on paper but empty inside. They don’t know why they’re doing what they’re doing. They’re suffering from a quiet identity crisis. I know, because I’ve been there, and honestly, I still go through it sometimes.

Most of my friends today are chasing money or fame, thinking that it’s the only way to be “happy” and “free”. And honestly, that’s what most people seem to be looking for. I’ve thought a lot about this, and because of hedonic adaptation, the way we quickly get used to what we achieve, even if they do make it, they’ll probably feel happy and free for a few years… and then the emptiness will return.

So, what’s the solution? I believe it’s to find a true purpose, something bigger than ourselves, something to fight for throughout our lives. And that’s not something we stumble upon by chance or inertia. It’s something we build, intentionally, from the beginning.

If you’ve ever felt like that, lost, unmotivated, like something’s missing, you’re not alone. That’s exactly why I started digging into this.

That’s why I wrote this. I’ve been researching this topic for a while, and I want to share some of the ideas, tools, and perspectives that have helped me. I hope they help you too.

Create purpose vs wait to discover it

Let’s demystify the idea of “waiting for your purpose to appear.”
Purpose isn’t something you find by thinking. It’s something you build by doing.
Sometimes, mastering something over time can create the passion and clarity you were missing.

So, we know that we need a purpose in life.
But maybe you're thinking: "Ruben, I’ve been waiting for it since I was a kid, and I still don’t know what to do."
You’ve probably tried different activities, hoping to find something that makes you feel good, something you enjoy and feel naturally good at.
But now you're 30, and you’re still unsure.

Do these thoughts sound familiar?

In my case, I’ve often felt like I wasn’t good at anything.
As a kid, I wasn’t particularly good at sports or school, or anything specific at all.
Sure, I liked video games, fantasy books, anime, and series, but those are entertainment.
They’re designed to be liked by everyone. So, I felt lost.
People kept saying things like: "Keep searching, Ruben, you’ll find it."
And in many books, that’s also the advice: "Find your passion, and you’ll succeed."
But I’ve never found that perfect thing everyone talks about.

Maybe I’m still young, but that has been my experience for years.

So what can we do instead, if you, the reader, are in the same position?

We can create something that’s actually under our control.

A powerful Stoic tool called the dichotomy of control has helped me a lot.
The idea is simple: focus on what you can control, and let go of what you can't.
And your purpose is one of those things you can control.
You can choose what you want to stand for, what you want to fight for.
You can become the architect of your own life.

Now, maybe you’re thinking: "Alright Ruben, sounds good… but what if I design a purpose, and later I realize I don’t like it?"

That’s okay. Your first purpose isn’t your final purpose.
It’s a starting point. A direction. Something you can adjust as you go.
The important thing is: you’re taking action.

Most people wait until they feel ready or discover the right thing.
But purpose rarely works that way.
As Stanford psychologist William Damon explains, purpose isn’t something we passively discover, but something that grows through engagement and reflection.

In the same line, author and professor Cal Newport argues that passion often follows mastery, not the other way around.
You don’t need to love something before you begin. Commitment and effort are what create the love over time.

And as philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre famously said, "Man is nothing else but what he makes of himself."
You’re not born with a purpose. You have to choose it, and then fight for it.

Let’s say you want to become the best developer in the world, but at first, you’re bad at solving problems, and you feel like you don’t even like it.
Still, you fight for it because you chose it. You decided that’s the life you want.

What you need is to strengthen your discipline muscle and fight every single day.
I promise you, after 10 years of showing up and improving, you’ll be amazing at solving problems.
And people will say: "Of course it’s easy for you, you’re so talented..."
But what they won’t see is the discipline, the effort, and the purpose that you built from scratch.

The trap of false freedom without direction

In the first section of this article, I mentioned how many people see becoming rich as the ultimate goal, not just for the money itself, but for the freedom they believe it brings.
But here's the danger: that kind of “freedom” can easily turn into a trap. You end up becoming a slave to your own mind. Let me explain.

Imagine you could do whatever you wanted. You could buy a new car every week, a house every month, or date anyone you want. You're rich, so you’re "free", right?

But without a clear direction, that freedom becomes meaningless.

And this is the trap:
Lack of commitment is not the same as freedom.

Freedom without purpose is just drifting. Sooner or later, it leads to:

• Feeling like you're not moving forward
• A lack of personal growth
• Emptiness or constant anxiety
• Jumping from one thing to another without meaning (jobs, relationships, hobbies)

The only real freedom is the one that comes from within.
It’s the freedom to choose your path and stay on it.
That’s why you need a purpose. A direction. A reason behind your decisions.

Philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre said it clearly:

"Man is condemned to be free."

This means we are always responsible for what we do with that freedom.
If you don’t choose your own path, someone or something else will choose it for you: society, trends, fear, comfort.

Viktor Frankl, who survived the horrors of a concentration camp, wrote:

"When a person can't find a deep sense of meaning, they distract themselves with pleasure."

And that’s what many people do today. We binge content, scroll endlessly, chase dopamine, but never stop to ask ourselves why.

Even earlier, Søren Kierkegaard warned about the “dizziness of freedom”. The anxiety that comes from having too many options without knowing which one to choose.
Freedom, without commitment to something greater, becomes a source of existential paralysis.

So what's the solution?

The only way to feel truly free is to commit to a purpose that is meaningful to you.
And to stay on that path, you don’t need motivation.
You need discipline, the ability to act in line with your values even when it’s hard.

That’s real freedom: choosing what matters, and living by it.

Designing Your Purpose (Not Waiting for It)

Now that we understand how important purpose is, the next step is simple in theory, but challenging in practice: we need to create it.

In my case, the first thing that helped me the most was reflection. Taking time to understand myself. Asking the right questions. Being brutally honest. Below is a list of powerful questions that I’ve answered over the years, and that helped me get some clarity.

They are adapted from the blog Fitness Revolucionario, one of my favorite blogs of all time:

• What things did you enjoy most as a child? What could you do for hours without getting tired?
• What makes you feel truly happy? How could you help others feel the same?
• What worries you about the world?
• What problems do you think future generations will face?
• What motivates you? What gives you energy?
• What makes you angry? This may sound negative, but it often points to something you deeply care about.
• What are you good at? What talents do you have?
• What do people admire about you? If you don’t know, ask five friends.
• What are you most proud of in your life?
• What kind of books, blogs, or magazines do you read for pleasure? What sections do you go to first in a bookstore?
• Who are your heroes? Who do you admire, and why?
• Imagine you win 100 million euros. After paying your debts and traveling, how would your life change? What would you do then?
• What ideas do you defend in discussions, even when most people disagree with you?
• What do you love sharing with others?
• How would you like your life to be in 5 or 10 years?
• Imagine yourself at 90, on your last day. What would you regret? How would you like to be remembered?

Now, after going through these questions, you probably understand yourself a bit better. And here’s something cool: thanks to technology, you can feed your answers into tools like ChatGPT and ask for ideas, patterns, and feedback. This can be incredibly useful to reflect deeper and explore new possibilities. Ask anything. Even if you don’t find your purpose immediately, I’m sure you’ll discover something that resonates with you, a starting point. The first step toward your ikigai.

From here on, reflection should become a habit. One thing that helps me is keeping a journal. I use it to capture my thoughts, track changes, and make sense of what I’m feeling.
Write about your ikigai, the direction it’s taking, and the decisions you’re making to move toward it.

This idea of designing your life, instead of waiting passively, is powerful.
And you can apply it to more than just your purpose: to health, mindset, relationships, creativity, anything.

One concept I really love is eudaimonia. It comes from Ancient Greek philosophy and was central to thinkers like Aristotle and the Stoics. It’s often translated as flourishing or living well; becoming your best self. Not by comparing yourself to others, but by living in alignment with your values. By earning your own applause.

You are the director of your own life. So be intentional. Be creative.
And fight for the future you want to build.

The Purpose as a way, not as a trophy

One of the most important things to understand is that your purpose is not a destination. You might reach it, or you might not, and that’s okay. What truly matters is trying to live according to what you’ve designed for yourself. That is where real freedom begins. Instead of chasing a result, focus on the process of becoming. Focus on who you are while pursuing something that matters. Living with purpose is about direction, not perfection.

This mindset removes pressure. You don’t need to arrive anywhere specific. You just have to walk the path and stay on it. To make this sustainable, it’s essential to enjoy the journey, to fall in love with the process of growth. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi called this state "flow", a mental space where you are fully immersed, focused, and energized by what you’re doing. Flow appears when challenge meets skill, when progress becomes deeply satisfying.

To enter this state more often, your systems matter. Your habits shape your identity. James Clear explains this beautifully in Atomic Habits, one of the most useful books I’ve read. His core idea is simple: small consistent actions create massive long-term impact. So if you want to grow, design your day around habits that reflect your values and your vision. For example, maybe you commit to one hour of cybersecurity, one hour of sport, and one hour of mindset work every day. These three hours, done consistently, will transform your life over time. Even if you have to work, clean, shop or take care of responsibilities, these core habits act as anchors. You don’t need perfection, just consistency.

That said, discipline doesn’t mean punishment. It’s also important to give yourself moments of rest and joy. After finishing your focused blocks, reward yourself with something that makes you feel good. Read, play games, watch an episode of a show you love. And even during the work itself, find ways to make it pleasant, maybe study while listening to music, or sip your favorite coffee while journaling. Some days won’t feel amazing. But you still show up. Because over time, even if you didn’t love the work at first, you’ll come to enjoy it. That’s what mastery does. It creates joy.

Modern Stoic thinkers like Marcos Vázquez emphasize this too. Living with intention doesn’t mean suffering nonstop. It means aligning your effort with something meaningful, building strength and enjoying the process of becoming stronger. In Buddhist philosophy, there’s a similar idea: act with presence, give your best, but let go of attachment to the outcome. When you stop obsessing over the final result, you can start enjoying the act itself. That’s when things shift.

Purpose is not something you win. It’s something you walk. And the longer you stay on the path, the more you begin to love the rhythm, not just the destination.

IA Era, Human Purpose and Evolution

Before closing this article, I want to reflect on something that has been on my mind a lot lately: the rise of AI and how it affects our sense of purpose.

Many people are asking themselves things like, “Why should I start learning this if AI will soon do it better than me?” And to be honest, I’ve asked myself the same question.

For example, I’ve spent countless hours learning how to automate tasks using Python or Bash. Years ago, this was an incredibly valuable skill. It helped me pass certifications like the OSCP and made me efficient in my work. Today, it’s still useful, but the truth is that AI can already generate similar scripts much faster than I can. And in the near future, it might even do it better.

So what does that mean? Should I give up? Should I feel useless?

Not at all.

Because there will always be things we cannot control. Maybe AI will eventually perform penetration tests on its own. Or maybe it will simply remain a powerful tool that helps us work better. We don’t know for sure.

What I’ve realized is this: our purpose is not something fixed. It’s a direction we follow during a certain phase of our life. And just like we evolve, our purpose can evolve too.

If one of your goals suddenly becomes obsolete or less meaningful, you can reshape it. You can adapt. You can choose a new purpose, a new version of yourself, a new challenge. You’re not locked in.

Purpose isn’t a static label. It’s a living intention that adjusts with time, with experience, and with context.

Today it’s AI. In the past, it was the industrial revolution. Every major shift in history has forced us to rethink who we are and what we want to do. But we humans have always found new paths to walk, new ways to grow, new dreams to pursue.

And that’s what makes purpose so powerful. It’s not about having one perfect mission forever.
It’s about being intentional, again and again, no matter what changes around you.

You are the one who chooses how to respond. You are still the architect of your life.

Conclusions

With this article, I’ve written something a bit different from what I usually share.
But I truly believe that having the right mindset is essential. Not just in cybersecurity, but in life. That’s why I decided to publish this.

If you’ve made it this far, I really hope you found something useful, some idea that made you reflect or gave you clarity.

Now you understand why having a purpose, or at least a direction, matters so much.
Purpose isn’t a gift you receive. It’s a path you decide to walk.
You don’t need to have everything figured out from the beginning. You just need to take the first step and keep walking.

Your purpose doesn’t have to be perfect. It can evolve. It can adapt.
What truly matters is living with intention and choosing to grow, even when things around you change.

Just like the Viking at the beginning of this story, you don’t need to fight for what others expect from you.
You can stop following a script written by someone else.
You can choose your own reason to fight; your own Free Land.

If you were waiting for a sign, this is it.
Start building your path.
Start designing your life.
And above all, keep walking with purpose.

Because in the end, it’s not just about where you go.
It’s about leaving a path that others might want to follow.

As Marcus Aurelius once wrote:
"Don’t waste what remains of your life in speculating about others… Instead, be intentional in everything you do."

Live with purpose. Build something worth remembering.
And make it yours.

References

Vázquez, M. Fitness Revolucionario (Blog).
Available at: https://www.fitnessrevolucionario.com

Vázquez, M. Invincible: Achieve More, Suffer Less. Planeta Publishing, 2020.
Available at: https://www.fitnessrevolucionario.com/invicto/

Frankl, V. E. Man’s Search for Meaning. Beacon Press, 2006.
Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4069.Man_s_Search_for_Meaning

Sartre, J.-P. Existentialism Is a Humanism. Yale University Press, 2007.
Available at: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300115468/existentialism-is-a-humanism/

Kierkegaard, S. The Concept of Anxiety. Princeton University Press, 1980.
Available at: https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691020114/the-concept-of-anxiety

Csikszentmihalyi, M. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper Perennial, 2008.
Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/66354.Flow

Clear, J. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones. Avery, 2018.
Available at: https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits

Damon, W. The Path to Purpose: Helping Our Children Find Their Calling in Life. Free Press, 2008.
Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1393795.The_Path_to_Purpose

Newport, C. So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love. Grand Central Publishing, 2012.
Available at: https://www.calnewport.com/books/so-good/

Aurelius, M. Meditations. Translated by Gregory Hays, Modern Library, 2003.
Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30659.Meditations

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