(This is Part 23 of a series. Go back to Part 22.)
Like any great principle (or energy), the principle of concentrating strength against weakness can be used for good or ill. For example, we can use electricity to light our homes or torture prisoners. It's all in how we use it.
Similarly, every schoolyard bully, every warlord in Bosnia, every gangster in Russia uses this military principle. They and many others prey on the weak, the helpless, the outcast. This is simply one of the sad realities of human existence.
But the principle can also be used in very beneficial ways. Let's take a look:
Earlier in this series we talked about the principle of building on small successes. That is actually a sub-principle of concentrating strength against weakness.
When we're encountering a large failure or a series of failures, it's usually because we're trying to take too big a chunk out of something and we're having our head handed to us because of it.
For instance, George Washington failed when he tried to confront the British army in New York. It was too big a chunk; Washington's army wasn't nearly big enough. Moreover, he had now made himself a failed commander in the public's eyes.
Afterward, his decision to strike at Trenton was brilliant. The contingent of Hessian solders at Trenton was a relatively small part of the British army, and not near the main forces—yet they were psychologically important. They represented the British army.
Then Washington stacked the odds even further, striking at dawn on the day after Christmas. He figured that this was the one time in the year when enemy soldiers could be almost guaranteed to be sleeping off a drunken stupor.
By stacking the odds in this way, by concentrating his strength against the weakest point he could find or create, Washington created a small success for himself, for his army, and for the new republic.
Then he built upon that success by attacking Princeton shortly thereafter. Now, after being a "failed" commander, Washington had suddenly created momentum for his army and had greatly lifted the spirits of the new country.
If we're facing some problem that seems intractable, or if we've been experiencing a lot of failure lately, a very good idea is to concentrate strength against weakness.
That is, pick a small chunk of it somewhere. Then do everything possible to ensure that you make progress on that small chunk. And then build from there, using the same strategy.
For example, let's say you have to write a term paper and you've been putting it off because it seems too difficult. Try taking some small part of it, some small area that you really like or that you find relatively easy to work on.
Having successfully completed that small part, you will feel an upsurge of energy about the project. You'll have much improved morale about it, and a sense of, "Yes, I can do this." That sense is extremely important; it leads on to further success, and it comes about through concentrating strength against weakness.
Or let's say you have a medical condition that's been worrying you, and you've been making the round of doctors with no success. Try backing off, then pick some small area of the condition and see if you can improve that. Pick an area, by the way, where you're quite sure you can make some progress if you concentrate on it.
If you don't know what the area might be, ask yourself an empowering question, such as: "What area of this problem could I successfully confront right now?" and then hang with the question until you get an answer. And you will.
Then build on that, using the same strategy. Pick another area that's small and achievable, and get a victory there. As your "success rate" improves, you'll find that you have a new momentum and increased morale, which will help you immeasurably in building upon your small successes.
Or let's say the relationship between you and your spouse has gone south and you've had no luck trying to rebuild it. Your best strategy is to find some small area of the relationship where you can create a success. If you'd like, use an empowering question to help you find it.
Maybe it's just going to a movie togetther and sharing an ice cream afterward. Maybe it's just having a courteous conversation about the kids for once. Maybe it's just doing something nice for him or her, such as taking the kids to school or giving her flowers.
Whatever it is, make sure that it's something or some area where you're almost certain you can make progress or successfully accomplish something. Then build on that, following the same principle.
This strategy doesn't guarantee anything—life doesn't offer any guarantees that I'm aware of—but it gives you the best odds to create a shift in the problem. And you might be surprised at the results.
(This is the end of Part 23. Go to Part 24.)
—jim sloman, 10.4.03 for 12.30.04
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