Tiger's Spirit, Human Heart
An Excerpt From Chapter One
The First Lesson: To See Solutions
The first lesson is one of sight, perception, and context. We "see solutions" when we are able to recognize the opportunity that is contained within each crisis -- instead of just the difficulty; and to perceive the opening that is hidden within each attack -- instead of just the danger. To see solutions we must develop the talent to switch back and forth between "the forest and the trees," in the blink of an eye.
The essence of learning this skill lies in our ability to accept, what is, while at the same time realizing that where we are (in the best and worst of times), is never our final destination. It is a step on a journey, a moment in time -- nothing more.
When life is good, we can take the opportunity to enjoy life's pleasures, get our bearings, fortify ourselves, and turn to greet the future. When times are bad or dangerous, we need to strategize and act quickly, maybe change course, attack, run, hide, or just grit our teeth and persevere. Regardless, the task is the same, see the solutions that are there, recognize the options and act on them -- the more quickly, the better.
Classic Chinese uses the same character for crisis as for opportunity -- and that, for the young student in the story, and ourselves, becomes the essence of the first lesson. In western terms, we must pay attention to two common mind-sets that hamstring us when we attempt to resolve a particular challenge.
First, we frequently convince ourselves that there is only one perfect (usually unattainable) solution to whatever challenge we face. While this is hardly ever the case, it does make a vast number of good alternatives seem like failures. And second, like a deer frozen in the headlights of an oncoming car, we often come to feel (usually in a blind panic) that there is no solution. Confused and paralyzed, we find ourselves stuck in place or in free fall, working -- damp with desperation -- without goals.
The truth is that usually there are several solutions to any problem. As evidence, think about how many times have you struggled to overcome a difficult challenge, worked hard to find the right (perfect) solution, only to look back a year (a month, a week, even an hour�) later, and said, "Oh, if I only had done..." -- something else?
Continued on Page 3 "The Student"
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