I’m on the edge of glory, and I’m hanging on a moment of truth.
These iconic Lady GaGa song lyrics speak volumes.
Whether we’re watching our favorite TV show, playing Monday Morning Quarterback after a football game or researching business case studies for work, the narratives we absorb have one thing in common.
They hang on the precipice. On the point of divergence between what got us here and where we’re going from here.
These cliffhanger moments are both overdramatic and overly cliché. But we continue to see them because they work.
That feeling of being on the edge of something new exhilarates us. Much like the moment before that first big drop on our favorite roller coaster, we can feel the butterflies of anticipation.
We’re addicted to this narrative. And the content creators are addicted to our addiction.
So, the literature we read, the hot air we listen to on the radio, the moving pictures we binge on our flatscreen TVs — all are filled with moments of truth.
It’s as if these game changing moments are a dime a dozen, just waiting for us to grab them.
They shouldn’t be.
You see, continually living life on the precipice is as irresponsible as it is exhilarating.
For those turning point moments are more than just high drama. They’re often the result of a lack of prior execution.
If the person or company facing a moment of truth had acted earlier, their future wouldn’t hinge on one make-or-break decision.
Debate the thought process for the fourth down play all you want. If you’d moved the ball enough on the first three downs, it wouldn’t have come down to one play.
Evaluate that big acquisition all you want. If the company had kept its financial health in order, then maybe it wouldn’t have had to bet the farm on such a risky move.
Glorify Jordan Belfort’s life all you want. But The Wolf of Wall Street wouldn’t be writing memoirs and sales coaching books for restitution money if he hadn’t spent years defrauding investors.
Yes, just like our fixation with the Rock Bottom Paradox, we can’t seem to move off of the life-and-death moments. We celebrate the winners and take lessons from the losers — all without realizing that all participants have already lost.
The real winners? They’re the ones who never brought their venture to the edge of a cliff. They planned ahead, executed with consistent precisions and heeded the warning signs of lurking danger.
You don’t hear about these winners, because their stories are wholly unmemorable. The highs and lows of their journey don’t captivate our imagination, call to our fears or stimulate our aspirations.
Make no mistake, though. This is the path we should follow.
It’s far more likely to get us to where we want to go. And it’s far less likely to put us in a spot where we risk losing it all.
So, forget the fancy narratives and the juicy cliffhangers.
The steady path forward is enough.