Episode 023 - Burn the Boats

This is InBrief. Let's get to it. Hey there, and welcome back to the InBrief podcast. Each week we take a few minutes just to dive into a new topic that hopefully makes your post-military transition a little bit easier and gives you a new perspective to take into a new week. I'm Jordana. I'm the CEO of the Recon Network, and this week we're talking about burning your boats. Now, it's likely that somewhere along your military career you came across this concept, but in case not, or in case you're one degree removed from the story, the idea of burning your boats refers to a story of the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés. Now, in the early 15th and 16th century, Cortés led an expedition to the New World, specifically to the region that is now known as Mexico. And upon arriving, he faced a daunting challenge, which was conquering the powerful Aztec Empire, which was the most dominant culture of the area and numbered around, at that time, maybe 25 million people. In contrast, Cortés himself only had 500 or 600 men. So Cortés made an audacious decision. He ordered his men to burn their boats. Now tactically, it seems like a crazy move to limit further already limited assets that he had. But Cortés realized that if he was going to win, the assets mattered far less than the mental state he had to find within his small army, and he had to completely eliminate any possibility of retreat. Cortés was eventually successful at his goal. Within a century, the Aztec population had only around one million people. But From that endeavor, we got this idea of burning the boats, which symbolizes an absolute commitment to a particular goal or endeavor with no alternative but success. Essentially, when we decide to burn our boats, we're removing the safety net of retreat, and as a result, we're forced to confront our fears, overcome obstacles, and give our full energy and focus to the task at hand. But just like Cortés, burning the boats is not about being reckless or impulsive. It's a tactical decision that creates a mindset shift, one that compels us to take bold action and commit ourselves wholeheartedly to our aspirations. When he ordered the burning of the boats, his men were left with no choice but to face the immense challenges that lay ahead. In doing so, they were forced to tap into resourcefulness, creativity and resilience to find a way to succeed. So similarly, when we burn our boats, we are removing distractions, excuses, and fallback options that can dilute our efforts and hold us back from actually achieving our ultimate goals. But not only that, there's another psychological effect too. This concept of all or nothing can propel us forward by igniting our inner drive of determination. And push us beyond our comfort zones. And because of that, we often explore uncharted territories and discover hidden strengths and abilities we might not have otherwise known we possessed. We can't give up because we have nowhere else to go, and then we can shift into a higher state of innovative survival rather than constantly looking back. And while it's important to note that burning your boats doesn't guarantee success, Because there will be plenty of challenges along the way, it does limit your second-guessing. When the only way to go is forward, you end up making progress regardless of what else is happening around you. Sadly, a lot of veterans have a hard time with this because so often things get hard and it's easy to forget the reasons you had for leaving service or to regret your decision. Or you remember fondly the brotherhood and sisterhood you left behind and you struggle constantly thinking about the way things were Rather than focusing on building new relationships or shifting the ones that are worth keeping. Anytime that there is change, you can be sure that there is also regret. The question is, is the regret valid, or are you just keeping it as a plan B or a way out? So your challenge this week, should you choose to accept it, is to think about this: what is there in your life that you need to burn the boats for? Have you been second-guessing a decision for too long? Have you constantly been looking back or regretting a choice to move in a certain direction? Are you holding so strongly onto Plan B that you're not invested enough in making Plan A work? Whatever this looks like to you, know that sometimes retreat doesn't need to be an option. And while eliminating the backup plan might feel like a bad decision, Sometimes it's the only decision that will help you move forward to where you need to be.