Sometimes the torpedo wins

I must admit that I am inspired by heroic moments in which people commit themselves fully to a course of action, consequences be damned. When Rocky in Rocky IV goes all out to fight Ivan Drago, knowing it could kill him. When Carl Brashear in Men of Honor goes all out to get himself reinstated to full active duty in the Navy – with only one leg. This stuff gets me every time. I cry like a baby.

I so admire passion, courage and decisiveness. And I passionately believe that people and businesses have got to let go of the fears that paralyze.

“Once more unto the breach, dear friends…” “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” Or, the slightly more crass version from my youth – “Sometimes you just gotta say what the fuck.”

These heroic moments inspire me but it is foolish to live your life this way. If you live a damn the torpedoes life, you are almost guaranteed to get killed by a torpedo.

Take heed my friends of an important distinction. In the heat of battle or in a dynamic market there is not always enough time to gather and analyze data. These are moments when decisiveness is more valuable than wisdom. But these moments should punctuate a life lived otherwise with wisdom, rather than define one’s life. Damning the torpedoes when you’re in a do or die situation is courageous. Riding around in a boat for a lifetime looking for torpedoes is stupid.

What to do about this?

Well it’s simple I think. Committing yourself fully to a single course of action, idea, opinion or worldview in select moments is fine. But nature doesn’t only select the fittest traits or genes. It also selects the fittest courses of action, ideas, opinions and worldviews. If you’ve got only one course of action, idea, opinion or worldview then you’d better be damn lucky. Because most likely, you’re toast.

And why limit yourself? There is so much to learn, to experience, to live. Open your mind. Question yourself – even your most cherished beliefs. Try on new thoughts, ideas, opinions, behaviors. See if they fit. See what you can learn. You can still live a life at any point in time dedicated to a particular worldview. But if you’re so locked inside your own head such that the story you tell yourself about yourself and the world is impervious to any change, then you’d better get ready. A torpedo is coming.