Wednesday, May 21, 2025
Don't just live your life; lead it
Ever find yourself getting worked up, stressed out, and suddenly hyper-competitive…over something you don’t even care about?
Same.
When I worked in an office setting (in person and remote) it happened *all* the time. One minute I was minding my business, next thing I was ready to throw down over a project I hadn’t even heard of the day before and wasn’t even going to be working on the next day.
What gives?
I’ve said this before—probably in more flavors than Baskin-Robbins offers at its ice cream parlors—but it’s worth repeating: Your progress and your peace depend on your focus.
We react when we panic. When we’re caught off guard. When we let someone else’s urgency, agenda, or ego set the tone. And suddenly we make decisions based on them, not us.
We respond without even knowing whether a response makes sense.
In a lot of ways, it’s like showing up to a knife fight with a lemon.
Bear with me.
First, listen to this week’s song, “I Brought a Lemon to a Knife Fight” by The Wombats. It nails the energy of these (often misguided) reactive spells—you’re hyped up, slightly confused way too (over-)reactive, yet still thinking you’ll somehow win. The song is catchy. A little chaotic. And the perfect accompaniment to making bad decisions at full speed.
So…why’d you bring the lemon?
Maybe you panicked.
Grabbed the first thing you could reach.
Had no idea you were going to a knife fight.
Regardless, that’s your survival instinct on overdrive.
If you “win”? That’s not skill, it’s luck—maybe even served with an ice-cold glass of lemonade. And panic-grabbing a lemon and calling it “agile strategy” is still panicking, just in disguise. But you’re not fooling anyone—at least you’re not fooling me.
You didn’t bring the lemon because you were clever with intent—you brought it because you didn’t pause long enough to ask the right questions. You didn’t question whether that was the right tool for the job or whether it was a battle worth showing up for, let alone fighting. You just reacted.
Now, if you really meant to bring the lemon, and had a plan to use it?
That’s different.
It’s strategy.
It’s disruption with intent.
It’s innovation.
Maybe you do your best hibachi moves, slice it midair, temporarily blind your opponent with citrus juice, and walk away unbothered.
Maybe you bail on the fight altogether and open a concession stand on the sidelines—selling lemonade.
Either way—your move, your purpose, on purpose.
So before you grab the first thing you can reach—literally or metaphorically—pause (trust me, you have time, and probably more than you think) and ask:
Am I competing or am I creating?
Am I reacting or am I innovating?
Do you want to react to survive or innovate to thrive?
It’s up to you.
I hope this week finds you creating beautiful things that make you happy.
If you want to make space to reflect, I’ve prepared this guide to help you focus your thinking, or to help you discuss with friends, in a group, or across your whole organization:
