PLAYING THE UNFAIR GAME

Life is so f**king unfair… what to do about it?

While quarantining myself at home due to COVID, a story that I grew up listening to suddenly crossed my mind:

The incident happened during The Warring States Period (around 300BC) in China:

Tian Ji, a general of the Qi state, had a series of horse races with his friend - King Wei of Qi. 

They each had 3 horses, and they would race 3 times, with each person using one horse at each race.

The person who wins 2 out of 3 races would be the overall winner.

Tian Ji was very aware of both King Wei’s advantage and his own disadvantage and changed the sequence of his horse in order to win:

First round, Tian Ji matched King Wei’s strong horse with his weakest horse. Tian Ji lost.

Second round, Tian Ji used his strong horse and defeated King Wei’s mediocre horse.

During the final round, Tian Ji used his mediocre horse and defeated King Wei’s weak horse.

Having won 2 of 3 races, Tian Ji claimed victory.

STRATEGIC THINKING & ETHICS

Yes, Tian Ji sort of cheated and who knows what would have happened if he was caught?

Afterall, it was the king that he cheated against!

But we know what the real takeaway is:

- take control of situations that we have control over

(when it is ethical to do so, that is.)

“It is those who are successful, [...], who are most likely to be given the kinds of special opportunities that lead to further success.” - Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers

Nothing is fair in life.

From where we were born to the genes we carry, no two are alike.

Some were born in affluent families with the best resources available.

Some were born in extreme poverty and destabilized areas, with minimal essentials to survive from.

However, there are instances of success from these extremes and everything in between. 

Today, we’re going to look into some of the aspects of these success stories.

Adaptability & Resourcefulness

Tian Ji’s story tells us that in situations of unequal strength, it’s crucial to use tactics that capitalize on our strengths.

Tian Ji was able to secure an overall victory simply by adapting this approach.

A modern example:

Small business vs. large corporation

• Although small businesses may have limited resources, they can adapt quickly to changes in the market.

• Small businesses can empathize more with customers and build stronger relationships. In this way, one of the most valuable resources of small businesses is empathy.

Our mindset dictates what we see:

Whether we can locate the silver lining in any situation or not is up to the perspectives we hold.

Success is Cumulative

Identifying our unequal strengths is only the first step.

Strengths are like muscles. 

We lose what we don’t use.

If we do not develop our strengths then our strength will one day become weak.

Success is the result of what sociologists call “cumulative advantage”.

Picture a snowball,

As the snowball rolls down a hill, it gets bigger and heavier exponentially,

Picking up more and more snow in its path.

This is the nature of success.

And the same can be said for failure.

We usually do not succeed or fail completely in one go,

Both of these are cumulative effects through our habits - 

Habits are either:

Beneficial or detrimental.

What kind of habits are you cultivating in your life?

Know What We Can Control

We can’t control the weather so there’s no point in even complaining about it.

We can control the perspective we take on viewing occurrences.

Our perspectives dictate our emotions.

So, it is important to know what we can control and,

choose the right action in instances where we have control.

Life is so f**king unfair… what to do about it?