Defensive Vigilance

Eye of Horus/Ra, for me an excellent symbol for being vigilant

One of the best moral virtues out there that I need to develop is that of defensive vigilance. You must be vigilant about your life, be aware of potential pitfalls and dangers in any course of action or inaction, watchful of your surroundings when driving a car, be vigilant about numerous things. You must defend yourself from the cruel fickleness of fortune to the best of your ability. Thus, be defensively vigilant. This virtue involves never allowing yourself to be unprepared from any events which have a reasonable chance of occurring. You must counter any attempt on the part of other parties that would result in your disadvantage or harm. If the course you are on is not amenable to maximizing your health, prosperity, peace of mind, and freedom then you are obligated to change the course towards a more correct path, by whatever means. Try to maximize opportunities for getting lucky. Try to make fortune your friend as much as you are able to, and not your enemy. In poker, for example, as in everyday life, if you are not in a position to benefit from potential good luck (perhaps you folded out of the hand), then in such situations you will never witness lady luck's good side. Unlike poker, however, life gives you opportunities to get lucky without risking much if anything, oftentimes. What do you ever lose by seeking out opportunities or applying for a better job with more pay? Even if you fail or the opportunity doesn't pan out, you will have gained experience. There are many areas in which defensive vigilance must be maintained so that you can ride smoothly when others crash (particularly those who don't pay attention or who are not careful). Also, never make a mistake you already learned from. Seemingly obvious, but sometimes not adhered too.