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ELIMINATING ESCAPE ROUTES -
NO LIMITS
There are times in life when having no place else to turn is the best place to be. This lesson was illustrated during a famous battle in ancient China between two feuding warlords, Yuan Shao and Ts'ao Ts'ao. During this legendary conflict, Ts'ao Ts'ao the ruler and warlord of the Chinese Han Dynasty adopted this strategy when he deliberately backed himself and his men into a corner. After a heated battle with Yüan Shao, Ts'ao Ts'ao decided on a plan that would give his troops a much greater incentive to fight. He placed three ambushes on the road behind his army and then made a feint on the Yüan Shao's camp during the night. As intended, the mock attack failed and Yüan Shao's troops aggressively counterattacked. This drove Ts'ao Ts'ao's troops back, through their own camp, along the road past the ambushes, and ultimately to the bank of a deep river. With his ambushes still hidden and his army backed up against an impassable river, Ts'ao Ts'ao's army was left with only one option. Faced with this dilemma, Ts'ao Ts'ao's entire army turned and fought furiously. This pitted the entire strength of Ts'ao Ts'ao's army against the smaller, less motivated, advance units of Yüan Shao's army. At the unexpected onslaught from Ts'ao Ts'ao's army, Yüan Shao's vanguard fell back toward the rest of his army, throwing it into confusion and retreat. As Yüan Shao's disordered, defeated and tired army returned toward its camp they became easy prey for the first of the ambushes. Yüan Shao and part of his army fought to the best of their ability and pressed down the road, but many soldiers were lost. Three miles further, what remained of the Yuan Shao army, fell into the second of the ambushes. Then again, after another three miles, the third ambush was encountered. With virtually all of his army destroyed, Yüan Shao left the road and fled, closely pursued by Ts'ao Ts'ao and his victorious men.
This true story teaches us a couple of life lessons, the first of which is a fundamental principle taught by Sun Tzu, which is to always give your enemy an escape route and never give yourself an escape route. In The Art of War he taught the following precepts with regard to leading men in battle:
"To a surrounded enemy, you must leave a way of escape. Show him there is a road to safety, and so create in his mind the idea that there is an alternative to death. Then strike."
Sun Tzu
"Throw your soldiers into positions whence there is no escape, and they will prefer death to flight. If they will face death, there is nothing they may not achieve. Officers and men alike will put forth their uttermost strength."
Sun Tzu
"Soldiers when in desperate straits lose the sense of fear. If there is no place of refuge, they will stand firm. If they are in hostile country, they will show a stubborn front. If there is no help for it, they will fight hard."
Sun Tzu
Most of us will never lead an army into battle so what does this advice mean for us in our daily lives. This message resonates with me because of how important it is for each of us not to place limits upon ourselves. One of the ways that we place limits is by providing ourselves with an escape route when we begin a new endeavor or foresee a challenge ahead. One simple example of this in my life is my lunchtime workouts. Traditionally, I spend my lunch break working out. For the past few months I have shifted my workout from running outside to running on one of the treadmills in our air conditioned weight room. In doing so, I unintentionally gave myself an escape route. If during my run I was feeling tired or stressed I could easily just cut my run short. Recently, I began running outside again. I enjoy running the trails in Papago Park and my route takes me around Tempe Town Lake so there is no escape route. If I don't feel great I do not have the option of quitting. I still have to get back to the office for afternoon clinic. By eliminating my escape route I have subsequently increased my mileage and therefore have received more benefit from my workouts.
I challenge you to examine all of the facets of your life and determine if you are in the habit of providing yourself an escape route when you set a goal or start a new project. When you discover these subtle mind traps you will soon realize that by providing yourself an escape route you by definition, are not 100% committed to succeeding in whatever it is that you are doing. This is a very common limitation that athletes place upon themselves. When they are faced with a difficult opponent or extremely important game, their minds go to work to construct a reason that they can use if they don't play well or do not win. However, the true champion follows the advice of Sun Tzu and places themselves in the mental position of not having an escape route. These athletes will fight harder than their counterparts resulting in more success.
The other life lesson from this story is the strategy utilized in fighting multiple opponents. When Ts'ao Ts'ao's army was pinned down with their backs to the river their adversary could only attack from one direction and therefore they could concentrate on a few attacking soldiers at a time as they approached along the road. Likewise, we are taught when sparring multiple opponents to get our back up against the wall or the corner of the room so that we can only be attacked from one direction. In doing so we are taking away our escape route and at the same time utilizing an effective strategy to defend ourselves against multiple opponents. In life we encounter enemies in many forms and at times it may seem like we are surrounded. When we feel this way we need to put out back up against the wall and confidently deal with one issue, problem or opponent at a time.
Eliminate all limits within your life. Examine any tendency you may have to create mental escape routes which may signal that you are not fully committed to success. Create strategies to turn the myriad of life battles into one-on-one confrontations by prioritizing your goals and picking your battles .
KAIZEN!!!!
Steven M. Erickson
© Copyright 2009-11 Steven M. Erickson, MD
All rights reserved. Ki Inspiring Thoughts.
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