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Loving Monday: Raising the White Flag… In Victory

loving_mondayIt’s okay to surrender. Really.

Not all battles are adversarial conflicts in which there is a winner and a loser.

Could it be possible that on some occasions the smartest course of action might be to surrender?

That to win in in the big picture would mean to admit that you’ve lost in the current scene?

How on earth can admitting defeat be a victory?

When you need help.

When you’ve got too much to do or need skill sets that you yourself don’t have, it’s smarter to surrender.

It’s a victory to recognize your limits. The sooner you get a handle on what you can and cannot contribute, the sooner you can surround yourself with the people, skills and resources necessary to get the job done and done well.

The defeat comes in pushing yourself until you burn out, make a costly mistake, or simply produce a mediocre outcome because you felt it was somehow more noble to operate alone.

When you need perspective.

When you can’t see the forest for the trees or small issues feel like huge problems, it’s smarter to surrender.

It’s a victory to take a step back and get some different perspectives on the issues at hand. The sooner you surrender the soon you can climb over to a different vantage point on the wilderness trail and discover viable routes ahead that are not visible from where you are standing now.

The defeat comes in letting all problems, disagreements and complications become obstacles that stress you out, cloud your thinking, and prevent you from making needed decisions.

When you need to change course.

When you find yourself digger the hole deeper and deeper or find your efforts taking you away from the goal instead of toward it, it’s time to surrender.

It’s a victory to recognize when you’re off course. The sooner you surrender the sooner you can take constructive and redemptive action to turn things around. The sooner you stop walking down the current path and turn around, the sooner you can choose a different path.

The defeat comes in stubbornly sticking to a course of action because you’ve got too much invested already or will feel humiliated to hear a rival say, “I told you so.”

Once in a while the smartest course of action is to raise the white flag.

Surrender. The sooner you do the sooner you can get help, get some perspective or change course.

The sooner you surrender the sooner you will be able to win.

On your side,

- Karl Edwards

Loving Monday is a weekly column designed to encourage us to step into our weeks with an intention to show up authentically, engage fully, and choose to make it a good week for ourselves. Explore past columns here.


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