ABSOLUTE ASCENDANCY

Commencing operation . . .

Overview

I wrote recently about finishing what you start. In that article, I outline several reasons why people tend to abandon ship halfway across the ocean before completing its course. One thing I didn’t mention is something I want to discuss today, and that is the aspect of going all in.

All-In

Let’s start with a story or two.

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Over 2000 years ago, Julius Caesar, a famous Roman general set out to conquer England. Though he commanded a fair armada, the Roman army was severely outnumbered. As the Romans approached the Cliffs of Dover, the enemy Celtics could be seen looming ahead, well-positioned on the high terrain, their shadows cast over the Roman fleet.

The generals under Caesar’s command had created a beachhead, but to his discerning eye, the ship formation appeared such that the Romans could retreat hastily if needed. If the Roman army retreated, they would have to sail back across the channel without any additional aid or supplies. Furthermore, Julius Caesar had his share of political enemies who would not waste the opportunity to rid themselves of a defeated general.

In a single decisive moment, Julius Caesar gave the order to burn down their ships. The Roman army obeyed the command.

It was do or die.

Julius Caesar had simultaneously sent a powerful message to both armies, his own and the enemy. The Romans would fight to the very last. They would either take the land or perish.

No compromise.

As long as the Roman ships were stationed at the beachhead, there would be moments of weakness in the Roman army where they would be tempted to retreat, shifting the mindset from dominant to defeatist. It was advance or death by the raging sea. Julius Caesar had ensured that his army would operate with total commitment to conquering the land, and the enemy realised this also.

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I believe in most circumstances if there is something you want to go and do, you should go all in. I have a friend who purchased an entry-level keyboard a couple of months ago. When I found out the specs, I told him he should have procured a full-length keyboard with 88 keys as you will probably outgrow a reduced size keyboard in 6 months to a year.

He said he didn’t want to commit to buying a full-length keyboard as he only purchased it to get started, and if he grew out of it, then the financial loss wouldn’t be too significant.

The problem is right there, though.

He purchased it to get started.

‘To get started’ implies that the long term hasn’t been taken into consideration. Alternatively, a full-length keyboard can be used by beginners and experts alike – though technically speaking a professional pianist would be better off with an acoustic grand piano due to the way the hammer action of the keys feel, in comparison to the plastic keys of a keyboard. Point being though, is that a professional pianist, in theory, can play the same songs on a grand piano as that on a full-length keyboard. You can get a hell of a lot more mileage out of a full-length keyboard without any significant additional financial investment, in comparison to a shorter keyboard.

To the best of my knowledge, this friend of mine has not made any noticeable progress with his musical ventures. He failed to go all in. He left the back door open and bailed. Unfortunately, it is the very nature of our minds to want to avoid stressful situations. Anything which requires effort can be related to stress. Practising the piano, particularly trying to learn a new song, can be stressful. If there is an escape hatch, the mind will seek it out.

The solution is two-fold. One is the burn the boats as specified above. Two is to develop willpower. Both of these in tandem will allow you to stay focused on your goals and will help prevent you from going awry.

Now that isn’t to say you have to go all-in on everything you do. If you want to dip your toes in the water first before taking the plunge, that can be okay but aim to do so in a way that can mimic as closely as possible, the approach you would take if you were to go all in. Using the piano example, instead of purchasing a shorter keyboard, find a church or similar location with a public piano to practice on. I asked a few friends if they had a blender I could borrow, but they didn’t have any, so I went all in and purchased a new blender. In this manner, you can simulate the ‘full’ experience without diverting resources, rather than allowing constraints to limit what you want to do. 

Conclusion

I want you to pick an activity or skill that you want to develop and go all in. If that means finding a proxy solution to best simulate the intended activity, then so be it. If you can invest resources into the skill, then that would be preferable, as once you have committed your resources, that gives an added incentive not to quit halfway, as you would then have wasted the resources you committed as well as your time and effort spent.

Let me know what you choose to do in the comments below. If you don’t go all in, you’ll be half-sunk right from the get-go, and it will only be a matter of time before you become fully submerged in defeat.

Mission complete – Overlord Drakow signing out.