Your heaviest artillery will be your will to live. Keep that big

In the stirring words of Norman Cousins, writer and prophet of human resilience, we hear a call that sounds like the beating of war drums: “Your heaviest artillery will be your will to live. Keep that big gun going.” This is no gentle counsel but the speech of a general addressing the soldier within each of us. It reminds us that in the battles of existence—against illness, despair, or calamity—our greatest weapon is not medicine, nor wealth, nor circumstance, but the inner fire that refuses to surrender. The will to live is the last fortress, the strongest armament, and the one force that can turn certain defeat into miraculous survival.

The origin of this wisdom lies in Cousins’ own extraordinary life. Stricken with a debilitating illness, he was told by doctors that he had little chance of recovery. Yet he resolved not to yield. He nourished his spirit with laughter, music, and joy, and through the sheer force of determination, combined with faith and creative therapy, he defied the odds. From this lived experience came his insight: that the will to live is a kind of artillery, a power that hurls back despair and death itself. He did not speak as a theorist, but as one who had fought on the battlefield of suffering and emerged victorious.

History confirms the power of this unseen weapon. Consider the tale of Viktor Frankl, the Austrian psychiatrist who endured the horrors of Nazi concentration camps. Surrounded by death, stripped of dignity, and burdened with unimaginable suffering, he discovered that survival was often decided not by strength of body, but by strength of spirit. Those who clung to a purpose, who bore within themselves a fierce will to live, outlasted those who surrendered inwardly. Frankl himself survived, and from his survival was born his great work, Man’s Search for Meaning. He bore witness to the same truth Cousins proclaimed: that the mightiest artillery is within.

Even the ancients knew this law. The Spartans at Thermopylae, though vastly outnumbered, stood unbroken for days against a sea of enemies. Their bodies faltered, but their will roared like thunder. Though they fell, their spirit endured and inspired Greece to rally and triumph. Their story reveals the same eternal principle: that when the will is strong, men fight beyond their mortal limits, and even in death, they claim a kind of victory.

The meaning of Cousins’ words is thus both literal and symbolic. The will to live sustains the body in illness, but it also sustains the soul in hardship. Life will bring battles—financial ruin, betrayal, grief, or despair. In those dark nights, external weapons may fail. Friends may depart, riches may vanish, strength may wither. But if the big gun of the spirit continues to fire—if the will refuses to bow—then the battle is not lost.

The lesson for us is clear: guard and feed your will to live. Do not let it rust in idleness, nor let despair disarm you. Nourish it with meaning, with joy, with faith in something beyond yourself. When storms rise, remember that your greatest power lies not outside but within. Keep that artillery polished and ready, for life will test you, and in that testing, you will need it more than all else.

Practical counsel is this: each day, strengthen your spirit as you would sharpen a blade. Reflect on your reasons to live—your loved ones, your dreams, your duty. Practice gratitude for what endures, even when much is lost. Train your mind to resist despair, for despair is the thief that seeks to silence your great gun. And when hardship comes, remind yourself as Cousins did: your will to live is your heaviest artillery—so long as you keep it firing, no darkness can fully overcome you.

Thus, Norman Cousins’ words stand as a battle-cry for every generation: “Your heaviest artillery will be your will to live. Keep that big gun going.” Children of tomorrow, remember this teaching. When your body falters, when the world weighs heavy upon you, summon the general within. Fire your will into the face of despair. For so long as the spirit refuses to fall, no battle is truly lost, and even against the harshest odds, you may yet stand victorious.