To Fight is to Win

I read a book (Elite Minds: Creating the Competitive Advantage by Stan Beecham) this week with a story in it.  Check out the book - very interesting. But a story he tells near the end is worth excerpting here.  I'm not going to tell you what to think about it... or what I think about it, other than to say it seems 100% relevant to the journey we on this forum are on.

-Tom

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Ken described, in detail, a selection exercise that has been used over time [by the Special Forces] with a great deal of success...

 The test requires the participants to tread water in a pool about fifteen feet deep. There are quite a few soldiers in the water at one time... The instructions are given to the entire group once, no questions are allowed. Once everyone is in the pool treading water, a whistle is blown. You are to swim to the bottom of the pool, touch the bottom, and swim back up. There are several underwater observers in scuba gear to ensure you touch the bottom and that no one drowns. 

 

 ... once all the candidates made it to the top of the water, the whistle was blown again requiring them to go back down after only a quick couple of breaths. Within the first few minutes, candidates would begin to swim to the side of the pool, declaring they either failed to touch the bottom or could not keep up the pace of the exercise. They basically disqualified themselves. Interestingly, there were no instructions given regarding what one should do if he failed to touch the bottom or could not go down when the whistle was blown. The candidates just assumed that if they could not complete the task as described, they were automatically out.

 

 Within five minutes, almost all the candidates would swim to the edge of the pool with a look of frustration and defeat upon their faces. Then Ken said, “The only way one could fail the task was to give up. We design it so that no one can complete the task, but we don’t care that you can’t complete it. We need men who do not give up when faced with an impossible task.” The few that never gave up, never swam over to the side of the pool in defeat, never thought they had failed, were the ones who would ultimately be chosen to be members of this elite group of men.

 

 I found the simplicity of that exercise to be genius and highlighted something I had witnessed over and over again ...

 - Why do some quit while others continue?

 - Why do some assume they have failed when no one told them they had failed?

 - Why do some refuse to believe they have failed when others insist they are a failure?

The message is clear, the only way you can fail is to give up. As long as you are trying, treading water, gasping for air, you are succeeding.

 

 To fight is to win, to quit is to fail.

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Really powerful message there!

I love you.  :)

Back at ya!

Doesn't this whole exercise just seem to capture the "weight loss" problem?  We all tried diets and "failed."

But what were the rules?  We all labeled ourselves as losers and failures.  The diets didn't do that.  We did.

Humans are bad in games with no rules... and no clear success criteria.  We really really have to look inside ourselves and figure out what the real game is. That's a lot scarier and harder work than being handed a rulebook...

:)

 

Yes! but I think that most of the most fulfilling and satisfying things in life are that way, and I'm a structured, rule abiding, spreadsheet making lunatic :)

Perfect!  You get to make your own rules then stick to them :)

Hey Tom,

I'm going to have a very challenging workweek (work month, actually) ahead of me.  Thank you for this awesome story to start my day. Also, for how busy your schedule is, I'm really amazed you found the time to read this book!  Airplane time, I guess :-) Thanks for all the stories (your own or the ones you read).  They definitely inspire.

F 

 

Yes - International flights have no internet access yet, so it's a great time to read!  I usually have a backlog of 5-10 books on my iPad to read - and now we can use them during takeoff and landing, so even better!

I hope you get through the month and can look back, amazed at how much you got done.  

-Tom

 

This is a very powerful point not just for VSG but for life in general.  On the other hand, attitude alone is not enough.  I learned this through my many trials of losing and regaining my weight without the VSG.  I can honestly say that after the sixth time, I had given up until I found a possible tool that could be a game changer.  I really don't believe that it is my willpower alone (or even close) that is responsible for my weight loss now.  Obesity is a disease, much like hypertension, that can't just be willed away.  Failure to understand this, leads to huge issues in later maintenance.  You will get this more when you are closer to your four or five year mark.  At least, that's how long it took me, but I might be a bit slow.  :)

To me, not quitting includes continuing the search for the best tools, methods, coaching, and anything else that can help.  Attitude wasn't enough for me either, but we both kept seeking the answer and found vsg... and we'll keep seeking answers as the years tick by in maintenance.  That is the attitude difference i see.  There's not quitting by continuing to do the same thing that has never worked, and there's not quitting by continuing to seek different answers.  I believe we chose (wisely) the latter and will continue to do so.