Did you know the way you go to sleep at night can tell you a good deal about yourself? Do you go to bed restless, with a great deal on your mind? Or do you go to bed with few concerns and sleep like a baby?
What does the following quote speak to you?
"As a man handles his troubles during the day, so he goes to bed at night a General, Captain, or Private." E. W. Howe (1853-1937)
Another way to look at this quote is from a business perspective. The general is the equivalent to a president of a large company, the captain a middle manager, and the private a non-management employee.
You may naturally think it best to go to bed as a general or captain, but is that so? Let's examine this perspective among others. First, let's look at the types of trouble each level must deal with in their daily routines.
Troubles during the day
While those at the lower levels in an operation may not realize it, the person at the top of a large organization can be under enormous stress at times, as can a manager. I am not saying a non-management employee cannot experience stress. We are talking in generalities here, not specifics.
What I will relate is first-hand experience and the experience of others. It may or may not apply to your organization, but you will be able to draw some conclusions and perhaps view each level differently.
The private/non-management employee
At this level, your concern is primarily about yourself, doing your job well, and being part of the team. The same is true for a single person before marriage. Most pressures on you to do your job come from outside sources, such as paying your bills.
You have more flexibility in dealing with stress since you are independent. As you add responsibilities for others in your life, the pressures increase, affecting how you go to bed.
If you are at this stage, how do you see yourself handling troubles during the day and as you go to bed at night – as a General, Captain, or Private?
The captain/middle manager
As a captain or manager, you are responsible for other people and take on the burden of making sure they are taken care of and performing. The same is true when you get married and have children. Suddenly it is not just about you any longer. You must bear the weight of responsibility for many more things than you did previously.
Can you see how you may be dealing with troubles other than your own at this stage? The thing is, when you go to bed at night, you can still do it as a general, captain, or private.
The general/president
When you are at the top of an organization, especially a large one, you bear far more weight than any ordinary employee or manager. Believe it or not, even those who reach this level have questions and doubts about their abilities to do the job. While they may exude confidence on the outside, many remain at least a little insecure unless they are a narcissist, which is a personality disorder, by the way. Unfortunately, the occasional narcissist will make it to the top, but they usually do not stay there long.
At this level in an organization, the weight carried can be tremendous. Imagine the responsibility for hundreds or thousands of employees and their families who depend on the decisions you make.
How do you think this person may handle troubles during the day and go to bed at night? As a general, captain, or private?
Decisions to be made
What do you think are the controlling factors of how an employee, manager, or president deals with troubles during the day? The regular employee may not be in a position to make such decisions, or if they are, the decisions will be relatively minor compared to those a manager must make. At this level, it is less likely you will carry your work home with you.
For the manager, there will certainly be more significant and routine decisions to make. Often managers will take their work home with them, if not in physical form, in their thoughts.
At the top level, decisions are usually fewer but more significant. These decisions will bear the heaviest weight as they can impact far more people than those of a manager.
While we now have more insight into the magnitude of each level's troubles during the day, one thing is missing.
Handling troubles
Now we get to the fascinating thing I find about this quote when you look at it more closely. As said earlier, one may think it would be better to deal with our troubles like a general when you go to bed at night, but that is not the answer. The real question to be asked is not what level the person holds. It is how the person, regardless of position, deals with troubles during the day.
The bottom-line determinate is not the position or level of the person, but rather if they are decisive or not! Let me explain.
Being decisive in dealing with troubles or handling problems during the day creates a different outcome from that of being indecisive. The decisive person, regardless of stature, will likely go to bed without the questions and concerns the indecisive person will carry.
When you are indecisive, putting off decisions, the weight of those decisions continues to hang over your head. You carry the decision with you whether you are a general, captain, or private. You will likely go to bed restless, have difficulty falling asleep, and not sleep as soundly. This is a principle for all of life, isn’t it?
In the end, it is not that you go to bed as a general, captain, or private, but how you deal with troubles during the day by being decisive or being indecisive.
Final words
While the quote does not directly address decisiveness and indecisiveness, it clearly points to it. It is well-established that indecisiveness leads to stress and anxiety. Being decisive can remove the weight of troubles or decisions during the day. Being indecisive adds to the burden you carry through the day and to bed at night.
The lesson in Howe's quote is simple. Whether you are a general, captain, or private, be decisive, and you will go to bed at night with less worry, concern, and stress. Why not take this lesson a step further and apply it not only to work but to all of life to enjoy its benefits!