There will always be trials, knots and obstacles (TKO) that will come in our lives. Some say these are God-sent to challenge us, test our resolve and make us better persons. Some weak leaders are “knocked out” when they encounter them. Others quit. In boxing, a referee rules a technical knockout (TKO) when a boxer can no longer defend himself. Some boxers simply give up, hence the term “hang up their gloves”.
For leaders, the better ones learn how to adapt and fight. They don’t succumb to TKO. Good leaders accept the good with the bad, as Job did when he asked his wife: “Shall we accept good from God and not accept adversity?” Using the story of Job in his book Great Days with the Great Lives, Charles Swindoll narrated how Job’s faith and purpose was tried and tested. Job never wavered, as he was faithfully conscious that God was eternally present during these testing times of TKO. In life and in faith, Job was maybe down but never out.
Someone once said, you have to play with the cards you are dealt with. Resilient leaders somehow develop the ability to work with adversity that they perform well and, ultimately, become better after experiencing tough times. Elizabeth Edwards said, “Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it’s less good than the one you had before. You can fight it, you can do nothing but scream about what you’ve lost, or you can accept that and try to put together something that’s good.” Hardships and adversities will always be a matter of perspective. Some whine and keep losing. Others shine and try winning!
My good friend, law-school classmate and golf buddy Natus Rodriguez was named after Ignatius Loyola. And like his namesake, his life was peppered with struggles and challenges. But he never gave up. His never-surrender mind-set is reflected in his golf game. Whenever he’s in a bunker or a hazard, he always tells us there is opportunity in adversity. He will then miraculously make recovery shots à la Phil Mickelson, and find ways to bounce back. If unable to escape, he would quip—whatever doesn’t kill you makes you alive. I’m not sure if being a true blue-blooded Atenean (from grade school to law school to business school) or being named after the patron saint of soldiers had something to do with his “one big fight” attitude, but Natus will never hang up his gloves. I once read this in a poster: “When a storm is coming, all other birds seek shelter. The eagle alone avoids the storm by flying over it”. Natus exemplifies that eagle, as he soars over and above any struggle!
It takes a great deal of courage to soar above a storm or to fight for a greater cause. Especially in public service, servant leaders will stand out and be subject of ridicule and persecution every time they fight conformity, complacency and corruption in government. I remember the late Sen. Juan M. Flavier, who was ridiculed when he relentlessly pursued and advocated the use of condoms as part of our country’s family-planning program during the 1990s. In his book, A Good Lawyer, Bobby Quitain narrated an incident where he publicly shared his maverick ideas in a forum, and felt alone when nobody supported his views. Quitain suggested that standing alone is necessary for servant leaders to have maximum impact. Using the examples of Fr. Robert Reyes (controversial running priest) and Sir William Wallace (Scottish hero depicted in the movie Braveheart), among others, Quitain said standing alone makes a statement, disturbs contentment and can spark a movement.
In her “Fight Song”, singer Rachel Platten sang—“Like a small boat on the ocean sending big waves into motion. Like how a single word can make a heart open. I might only have one match but I can make an explosion…I’ll play my fight song. And I don’t really care if nobody else believes. “Cause I’ve still got a lot of fight left in me.” Leaders will always look at trials, knots and obstacles positively, and turn them into sources of inspiration to recover. Whenever leaders feel alone in their quest to make things better, they find comfort in the belief that they “might have only one match, but they can make an explosion”.
I am not a regular reader of the Bible. In recent months, I have, however, encountered many powerful verses that, when taken together with the tidying marathon prescribed in the KonMari method (similar to 5S), have made me see things more clearly. In hindsight, I wish I had read these powerful words of encouragement during my four and a half years at the Bureau of Immigration. One of these powerful verses is Psalm 139, which said, “You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar…. Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.” Looking back, I realize now that I should have worried less inasmuch as God knows where my heart was, and He was simply testing me every time I tried to fulfill the dauntless task of reforming a government agency.
Whenever we encounter hardships, and definitely we will at any given point, let us all be eagles and soar above them. As to how, I learned that during these stormy conditions, the best refuge is found in His Almighty Grace. So if and when we are about to give up or on the verge of a physical TKO, the first step is to simply have a spiritual TKO here on earth—meaning to Trust, Know, and Obey Him. Believe me, this kind of a knockout works out!