Draw first blood

Suppose you have to maim someone. Suppose it's for a good reason - a catastrophe or cataclysm, American action – pick any. Your mission is to cripple that person for life. How will you do it?

Scenario 1

You impale him with one precise and calculated stroke. The knife (or corresponding blade) draws a perfect parabola and lethally spears the victim. No explanation. No remorse. Quick and clean work. You pour two whiskies, light two cigarettes, and casually comment on the weather. Professional.

Scenario 2

You attempt to postpone the inevitable, so you mince around the target with hesitant, torturous chops causing inconceivably more damage and agony. Amateur work is always sloppy.

Plot twist

But what if you put yourself in the victim's shoes? Perhaps you find yourself in the middle of a real-life horror scene. Someone simply MUST break your arm for you to survive. Well, would you pick the big, brawny guy who would snap your bone with a single efficient move? Or would you pick the skinny (but sexy!) chick that would traipse around nervously, twist your wrist until you touch your own neck until you find yourself mentally counting the number of loose pieces your bone shatters into?

Well, I know what I would choose.

The thing is, I believe this analogy can relate to many other aspects of everyday life. For example: how do we tell someone the ugly, painful truth which he is too blind to see? Ta-da ... Same. How do we admit we have made a mistake? Same again. Solving a vexing problem... you get it.

You act like a pro. You put your death-or-glory pants and jump head-on into the problem. That's the best way. Pro is as pro does. You take a deep breath and spit out the proverbial stone in a long, meandering and not very comprehensive sentence. There it is - you've told the ugly truth loud and clear! Then you hear "Oh, is that the problem?" and realise you've made the right choice by slamming the knife straight into the mark.