“Morale” is defined by Merriam-Webster as “the mental and emotional condition (as of enthusiasm, confidence, or loyalty) of an individual or group with regard to the function or tasks at hand.”

The effect of morale on people is one that often goes under-appreciated and unrecognized. Morale can actually a major decider of who wins in any competition. Having a high morale provides confidence to people that they can win, and as a result, they work harder to win, and they usually do. High morale isn’t everything though; it is just a booster that makes people do better than they were already going to do; if you have a bad strategy, high morale isn’t going to make it any better.

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Just as high morale can do wonders in improving performance, low morale can have an opposite devastating effect. Low morale has the power to lose a battle before it is fought. When people lose the will to fight, or to work, they are easy to overcome. Battles aren’t won by people who aren’t willing to fight. Think about it: if your morale is low, you will not care much about going to class, getting up on time, or doing homework.

When people care about what they’re fighting for, it is significantly harder to stop them. Likewise, when people do not care about what they are fighting for, they are easy to defeat. In his treatise on military strategy, the Art of War, ancient Chinese military tactician Sun Tzu recognizes the effect that morale has on men at war. He talks about manipulating the morale of his own men and the morale of his opponent’s men in order to win battles. He also talks about using morale to decide when to attack.

“He will win whose army animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks”

“A clever general, therefore, avoids an army when its spirit is keen, but attacks it when it is sluggish and inclined to return.”

(Quotes from SunTsuSaid.com)

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Having high morale on your side makes you capable of destroying the morale on the other side, so it is wise to utilize it at an optimal time when your morale is higher than your opponents’. It makes sense: If you’re up against a group of guys who are all hyped up to destroy you, you’re gonna be far more intimidated than if you are up against a bunch of people who couldn’t care less about what happens.

It’s crazy what a bit of excitement can do.