The Standoff

"Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I happen to be a fan of the old Clint Eastwood western movies and maybe you have seen one or two of them as well. Many times he plays the unknown gunslinger who might have a checkered past but somehow has the redeeming quality of doing what is right. One of my favorite movies is "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly."

It is a movie that pits three men against each other in the search for a treasure. In a crucial scene near the end, the Clint Eastwood character declares that only he knows the real name of a grave in which the treasure is buried. He then writes the name on a rock, placing it in the middle of the graveyard.

He proceeds to tell the other two characters that "two hundred thousand dollars is a lot of money. We're going to have to earn it." The three then begin to stare each other down in the circular center of a cemetery, calculating alliances and dangers in a Mexican standoff before suddenly drawing their guns.

A Mexican standoff, as I am sure you have heard before is a stalemate, no one with an advantage, and no way to make a decision. In its most precise definition, it is a confrontation among three opponents. Popular usage would refer to only two opponents in which neither side has an advantage by attacking first. The interesting thing is that each of us create this standoff in our own minds daily.

We conspire against ourselves, weighing the decision to get out of bed early versus staying snuggled in bed warm, sleeping another 20 minutes. We could get up early to read, meditate, exercise or we could simply stay in bed sleeping. You might think is is an easy decision to make but it can stifle you.

Better yet, you might be thinking of taking that one college course to advance your skills. Yet it means sacrificing time with friends and additional effort in energy or less sleep while you study. The results could mean a better paying job, advancement or any other number of postivie outcomes. But we create that standoff, a Mexican standoff within our mind. Do I or do I not pull the trigger on moving forward in life?

How does one "win" the standoff when allow both sides of our mind have equal advantage? To answer, let us go back to the three men standing in the circle. Each has what seems to be no advantage but that is not quite so. You also have an advantage that you may not thought of, an advantage in which you have stacked the odds in your favor.

In the movie, the Clint Eastwood character had done just that. He had taken the bullets secretly from one of the men. The decision to pull first and which man to shoot first was easy. He had stacked the deck in his favor and so can you.

In your own standoff, you get to stack the deck by doing some things before hand. You get to make the decision and by believing in yourself, the deck is stacked in your favor. You know the benefits of making the right choice, of where you want to be in life and believe that you will get there.

So when the standoff occurs, you have the gun of decision already in hand and get to pull the trigger first. When you believe in yourself, no matter the outcome, the decision becomes easier each time. You will be the one to pull the trigger first.

Sounds easy, right?

Setting yourself up for success is never easy. It takes hard work and consistency in your daily habits. There will be days when you fail to pull the trigger first and the day will fall from a bullet of indecision. You mourn the decision and then let it go and move forward.

The next decision to be made will come around soon enough. This one you will pull first and have the advantage within your own Mexican standoff. The accomplishments and success will be your's to have. And all it took was making a decision to keep your life moving forward.