What’s at stake?
We make choices – big choices – based on how we answer that question.
I saw an interview some years ago with a West Point instructor. He said “When business leaders fail people lose their jobs. When we [the US Army] fail people die and nations fall.”
I’m aware of the safety training in Kevlar plants for the work needed around 10,000-liter tanks of hydrofluoric acid. Everyone pays attention. Everyone follows the protocols. People will die a horrible melting death when they don’t.
Parents make decisions about time and focus differently if they’re thinking “We’re devoting to raising competent adults” vs. “we’re just about getting through the day.”
The choice between movie A or move B on Netflix tonight? Whatever. Nothing really at stake!
I would argue that one reason why schools (at all levels) and religious institutions are rarely producing people who can learn and grow on their own is that the leaders act as if not much is at stake. They’re not serious. They have limited reflection and self-challenge to rise to high performance levels. They’re lowering the bar and moving the goalposts.
Our political leaders (or should I say political theater actors?) speak loudly about existential threats and can get more donations and attention when “everything is at stake.” Unfortunately, so much credibility has been eroded when people learn about lies and corruption that most citizens don’t believe much is at stake – or at least, these leaders are not to be trusted with what is at stake.
…
I was recently inspired to think about the illusion of choice. Yes, we have choices. Yet if we truly want certain kinds of outcomes, we’ve automatically eliminated a set of choices about our behaviors. We fail to reach those outcomes because we think we still have choices.
Let me give you some examples:
If I want to systematically lose weight and keep it off, then I don’t have the choice to eat a whole bag of potato chips instead of an apple.
If a professional football player wants to play every game in the season, then he must do the appropriate stretching, warmups before practice, and an ice bath after practice. He’ll have to get to the training facility early enough to get started, which means he must get up early, which means that he can’t stay out late partying because he needs 8 hours of sleep.
If you dream of building and selling a business for $$$, then you’ll need to be in a growth business with sustainable competitive position, even if you’d rather be in a different business domain.
If you want to be a great parent, you’ll need to do the hidden work that great parents do to learn and grow with their children. You can’t behave as if limited quality time makes up for quantity of time.
If you want to master anything, you don’t have the choice to do everything else. You pay the price for mastery.
I suggest you consider where you might be falling for the illusion of choice in areas where you are failing to reach an objective. This illusion is a powerful temptation.
