Forward Movement
“When in doubt, go forward.”
Much of martial arts is about retraining your body. We’re born with a huge number of instincts, reflexes and hard-coded behaviors to help us stay safe, which are great from an evolutionary perspective… but they’re not always the best approach. For example, when we fall, we naturally extend our arms towards the ground, absorbing the impact on our palms and joints. This is great for keeping our heads safe, but at the cost of our arms. Retraining our body to fall differently, absorbing the impact along the side of our body, results in more safely hitting the ground.
Another example is sparring - our natural inclination is to move directly way from someone attacking us (The “Prometheus School of Running Away from Things”). This knee-jerk response attempts to put distance between us and danger, but we’re likely to trip, and will eventually just get run over as they continue forward. To be successful in a fight, this instinct has to be reprogrammed to instead move in, towards the perceived danger.
Moving in
Ideally we’re able to avoid danger by avoiding it, but when needed this forward movement has a number of advantages. Once you’re in a dangerous situation it’s usually better to be closer to the source. This helps keep you out of a danger zone (e.g. it’s really hard to punch someone who’s only an inch away), and also allows you to take steps to neutralize the threat. In the martial arts context this means closing the distance with your partner so you can protect yourself and attack them.
This physical concept can also be applied in non-phyiscal situations. While the threats we experience at work at (hopefully) more metaphorical in nature, we can still benefit from moving towards then, rather than away. Recognizing a teammate doesn’t fully understand what you’re asking them to do, for example, is a threat to your project. They may not take the correct action, and result in a poorer outcome. Once you’ve recognized this threat, instead of ignoring it and hoping it’ll take care of itself address it head on and have a discussion with that teammate.
This could also take the form of actively planning future projects now instead of waiting. The threat in this case is missing deadlines or even entire portions of the project due to no planning. Actively engaging and moving towards this threat will at the very least help you understand the potential outcomes.
Moving TOWARDS the danger is also not something that is expected… after all, we’re hardwired to run. In a fight this gives you the advantage of surprising the attacker (e.g. they won’t expect you to get closer to them), which gives you an opening to strike back and escape. At work directing the challenge directly and straight on results in quicker resolutions, and helps positively improve how others perceive you.
Of course we cannot enjoy this strategy without first undoing what evolution has provided. This is a long and uncomfortable process, but one that is wholly worth it. Physically, we train this by standing in a corner and moving up towards someone as they punch/kick at us as we move towards and past them. This is essentially exposure therapy, and helps your brain understand it’s not as dangerous as it seems. Over time, you’ll get more comfortable moving in towards a threat, and eventually it will become a habit.
Comfortable being uncomfortable
Work offers similar situations. Any time a perceived threat crops up, go to it directly. Have someone you have challenges communicating with? Don’t wait for them to approach you, grab some time and talk it out respectfully. Notice an error in a system or insufficient documentation? Don’t hope someone else will address it, proactively solve it. The exact form this takes will vary based on the threat you find, but by practicing moving to the threat you’ll find you can resolve it significantly easier, and more quickly, than by running.
This approach definitely falls into the “get comfortable being uncomfortable” bucket. Discomfort, I have found, is generally an indicator you have room to grow in some way, and this is no different. The good news is that discomfort eventually disappears, and you’re just left with a good habit of forward movement, on that lets you deal with threats and exploit opportunities.
