I surrender. I give up. Am I going to engage in a strategic surrender? Is there such a thing? Mostly in hindsight, wouldn’t you agree? Most of us, when giving up or surrendering, are usually doing this under some form of perceived or real duress, which can be self-imposed or inflicted upon us from external sources.

Why is it mostly in hindsight’? Well, part of that comes from our internal rationalizations—wanting to have a positive spin on events so that we can feel better about our circumstances. The other part comes from understanding later that things have worked out for the better for us as a result of our surrender … and really, at the time, we never could have guessed that we would be enjoying such a positive outcome. Germany and Japan, both of whom surrendered at one time, are today both members of the G7—the members of which collectively represent greater than 50 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product. Not bad for a couple of “losers”.

There are two sayings I want to talk about. “Winning isn’t everything.” “Winning is the only thing!” The first is true and the second is absolutely false. As it turns out, surrender and losing can both, in fact, be winning (even winning by a huge margin) when we apply the lens of time to the circumstances. So how can we strategically surrender? How can we throw in the towel specifically in order to win in the long run? This is much like the concept of going with the flow. Don’t fight the current. Don’t oppose the flow. Swim across the current or go with the flow. Be strategic. Keep your eyes open and only take a stand when the odds for a big payday are overwhelmingly in your favour. True warriors embrace their failures, defeats, and surrenders as much as (or even more so) than their victories, because they know that the path to success is not a string of victories but a string of defeats that create the opportunity for a really big payday!

You are warriors and you can achieve great outcomes through embracing your failures. Don’t fight, and don’t struggle. Surrender to win! So it has been written herein.