Living on the Edge

Many people worry about living on the edge, yet they are already there. Every decision, every thought, and every action is taking them into the unknown. Who knows what will happen next?

We live in imperfect worlds populated with imperfect people working in dysfunctional organizations. One person I worked with, a Mr. Neat Clean & Tidy was trying to live in fail-safe ways. At his home the walls were covered with inspirational quotes, guides for living, and large pictures of places he wanted to visit. At work his walls were covered with neat sayings, planned objectives, and detailed progress reports. Planning was what he did best and signs of planning were his badges of honor.

As thoughtful, precise, and detailed as his plans were, Mr. Tidy had missed one of life’s most vital clues:

Planning without action is futile.
Action without planning is fatal.
Planning is one side of a two sided equation. The second side is action. Without action nothing gets done. The reason so many people ignore the action side is that it contains risks. Planning is safe; action isn’t.

Fear of the unknown causes human beings to become over-planned and under-done, which in turn leads to metal health issues. Mr. Tidy’s schedules were so tightly wrapped that his deadlines were missed, commitments were broken, and dropped balls were everywhere. His chosen method of living resulted in unhappy co-workers, a lost job, one extremely angry wife and an early grave. Mr. Tidy was killed by unmanaged stress.

Highly effective people are not driven by stress. Highly effective people are driven by results and the plans that they make aren’t actual plans - - they are educated guesses. What makes guessing so effective? Action! Action combined with the will to change your plan the instant something better is found.

The best way to do anything has yet to be found and better ways can be found by failing. People afraid to fail never discover what could have been.

Remember what Confucius said about failing:
“He (or she) who makes no mistakes - - makes nothing.”

There is no fail safe way to go through life. Our mistakes lead us to the very things we need to learn. Therefore, the most effective way to live is by living on the edge - - one foot on the known, the other on the unknown.

Exceptional living is living on the edge.