#FridayFacts. Burn the boats

In 1519, Cortés arrived in Mexico, on a conquest to capture the world’s great­est trea­sure. Upon arrival, he famously ordered his men to ‘burn the boats’. It was a deci­sion that should have back­fired, for if his men were on the brink of defeat there wasn’t an exit strat­egy to save their lives.

However, had the oppo­site effect. Now they were left with only 2 choices — die, or ensure vic­tory.  And fight they did! As someone who struggles a catastrophising mind, I’ve realised that I too need to stay focussed on my commitment strategy, rather than planning my exit strategy.

In clinging to my ‘just in case’ safety net, the result can be that my actions are shallow attempts, never designed to succeed. Rather, today and every day, I need to remind myself to act decisively in spite of my fear of failure, ensuring success, even in hardships, is the only option!