On my last deployment I met a very eccentric contractor named Rob. Rob was close to retirement and a former veteran. He had worked several military positions that I could hardly believe half of them. Needless to say, he had one rule that he consistently reminded all of us; "you can't use logic in an illogical place."
Rob's rule number one was not a very profound rule, yet it carried a lot of weight. Rob would consistently remind you how illogical the military is and that trying to use logic was senseless. However, his reminders were also a reminder in themselves of how defeated he had become.
Logical reasoning against an illogical environment is a continuous battle we all face in our daily lives. It is a battle between internal and external perspectives. No matter the consensus of the reasoning nor how logical it may sound, our interpretation of the illogical basis is only an interpretation of our perspectives and common sense.
The more illogical sounding the situation is the more we need to ask WHY. Understanding root causes, history, or even bigger pictures can shed light on the illogical and turn into logical. When we have a better understanding we can change our logical reasoning into a compromising solution.
Many of Rob's cases had to deal with funding for radio equipment that was desperately needed. Fortunately, I understood how to word the necessity to convince leadership. The results shocked Rob, I think, in which we were able to acquire most of our requests in under a 3 month span.
Don't let the illogical bring you down to point of acceptance or defeat. Find new angles to counter the illogical situations and allow logic to triumph.
Comments