Tactical Hell | Strategic Heaven
The difference between emotion and objectivity.
There isn’t enough recognition given to how much we strategize in our day-to-day living.
Think about it. You know exactly what to do in the morning to get out the door the fastest. You know exactly what road lanes to drive in on your way to work. You write out your grocery list based on where each item is located in the store so that in one swift loop you can grab what you need and get out.
That’s strategy. That’s having a goal in mind and calculating the precise means of achieving that goal in the most effective way possible.
But what about in the rest of life? What about when there are living and breathing people that arise along with an obstacle you may face, and the solution isn’t as easy as moving about an inanimate object or concept? While each instance can be very specific, I have come to find, in the general study of war, and leadership strategies, that the same rules and thought processes are quite applicable to real-life conquering.
As I look through the collection of different strategic methods, practices, thoughts, and reflections I have curated for some time, it seems appropriate to open with the difference between Tactical Hell and Strategic Heaven. These two notions illustrate the division of strategy and reaction as a whole, and can be recognized within many other fighting methods as well. I’d like to base this entry in particular off of American author Robert Greene’s breakdown on the topic.
Tactical Hell
You are dealing with one battle after another, and none of them end with any resolution. It is very hard for you to see the hell for what it is; you are too close to it, too mired in it to think of any other way. Because there are so many people now vying for power in this world, and our attentions are so distracted in many different directions, this dynamic only gets worse and worse. — Robert Greene
Being perpetually reactive, and driven by emotional impulses, is to engage in tactical hell. Reactivity, being the key word, is what leads to a seemingly endless string of fights, so to say. Or, an endless string of constant reaction needing to take place on your behalf, with little to no reprieve in the pace you must shell out effort. Like a stone cast through the surface of placid water, ripples are imminent, and the amount will vary upon the size of the stone thrown in the first place.
We fail to recognize just how insignificant of a role reaction-time plays in making decisions. More often than not, we are looking to get in that quick reply, like in a tennis match when the serve comes your way and you think of nothing other than making sure you hit it back over the net to your opponent. You don’t think to calculate how fast the ball is coming towards you, where your opponent is positioned, where you are positioned, or just how impressionable the swiftness and delivery of your swing will be on how the ball moves once it makes contact with your racquet. Fast and uncalculated responses take precedent over thought-out, qualitative replies.
Perhaps the most aggravating example of when this happens, is during arguments or disagreements with other people. Similar to warfare, an unexpected volley may be launched your way that seeks to provoke your response. What do you do? Of course your emotions are heightened, you are angered, or even outraged by what has been said to you. We all know just how uncontrollable we can become given such circumstances. The only thought is to attack back and strike harder than the person who struck you. But doing so in a tactical mindset, i.e. reactive, uncalculated, and emotional, usually results in detrimental consequences.
Conversely, there is strategic heaven. Rather than being emotional, you see things objectively.
Strategic Heaven
Strategy is a mental process in which your mind elevates itself above the battlefield. You have a sense of a larger purpose for your life, where you want to be down the road, what you were destined to accomplish. This makes it easier to decide what is truly important, what battles to avoid. You are able to control your emotions, to view the world with a degree of detachment. — Robert Greene
Taking that one moment after you are provoked to thoroughly comprehend the situation you could potentially be engaging in is what strategic heaven is. You’re reflective and calculating by taking time to separate yourself from the situation, and not allow it to become personal at first glance. There is a why for every occurrence you face, and you recognize that analyzing all aspects of that reasoning will enable you to respond in the most effective way possible.
Achieving strategic heaven can also come with enough disengaged objective to realize not every action taken against you requires a response. For instance, petty arguments or jabs that don’t seek to achieve any type of intelligent understanding between both parties, and are only implemented as one person’s attempt to maim another for their own selfish intent. That type of assault does not reach any type of positive resolution, no matter how thorough, considerate, or air-tight your counteraction is. Any reaction from you, by default, is what this strike seeks to achieve. They want you to engage, because they want the victory of averting your attention towards something they know is hollow and unjust.
Being nonpartisan in this regard is quite similar to treating the situation like a fire; oxygen contributed towards it allows it to burn. Denial of oxygen will choke it out.
What are methods you have used to exercise the way you implement strategies? When it comes to certain situations, are you more likely to become emotional, or do you trust yourself to maintain a level grasp and use that one second to take a deep breath? Analyzing your reactions throughout all realms is an excellent way to expand your thinking and condition yourself to see the opposing side to what it is you believe in. The more you understand the purpose for irrational and hysterical reasoning, the more you can guard yourself from acting that way, and know how to fend against it when it comes after you. Whether it is suppressing the urge to engage in road rage when someone cuts you off, or holding off on answering an important email until you’re able to collect a qualitative and well thought out way to respond, there is never a lack of opportunity to observe all the ways you may be encountering and engaging in Tactical Hell or Strategic Heaven.
