You know the book Shogun by James Clavell? It’s about the English sailor Blackthorne; he lands in Japan and we get to see all the Samurai fighting it out and how one of them becomes Shogun, right?
Hell no. That’s not what Shogun is about. Shogun is about Toronaga. Blackthorne is just there as a story-teller we can relate to.
So what does this have to do with making big decisions in life? Bear with me Gaijin…
Throughout the book, Toronaga (based on Tokugawa Ieyasu) is put into impossible situations with no way out. At one point he’s handed a summons to appear in Kyoto to be executed. The messenger is practically giggling as he hands over the decree because he knows Toronaga is going to have to pull out his wakizashi and seppuchu his guts open right there.
But he doesn’t.
He announces that they’re all going to Kyoto. A nice leisurely stroll through Medieval Japan. As he makes his way through the country-side, all the other Daimyos (Feudal lords) are duking it out for power and playing off each other. The situation is so out of hand that by the time Toranaga gets to Kyoto, there’s only one guy that can save the Emperor and claim the title of shogun: Toranaga.
Ok, that synopsis is taking some liberties… the point is, throughout the story, whenever Toranaga is faced with a crisis and all of his options look bad, he stalls.
I’ve used this over and over again when making life decisions. Whenever all options look bad, I sit back for a minute and say “waitasec… how can I put off committing to something that’s gonna compromise me later?”
So if you find yourself in what seems to be an impossible situation, don’t let it freak you out. Just because you can’t see how you’re going to survive something, doesn’t rule out that some opportunity may present itself as time goes on.
The flip-side to this is sometimes when you can’t see a way out, instead of stalling, you just gotta get pig-headed stupid, say damn the odds and forge on ahead.
Both of these strategies have served me well and even as I write this (for the second time actually) I think I need to re-apply them myself.
So when life’s gets you by the short and curlies, hang in there and find a way to stall… the situation will eventually get better….even if you can’t see how it’s going to get better. Toranaga it.