Fighting terrains

There was once that I was sitting down to a serious discussion with an Asian politician who lamented how he didn’t see any problems with having two wives since even France’s former prime minister Francois Mitterrand had two.

I looked intently into his eyes and told him, “It’s not about whether you have two or three or even 10 wives. Your country will not accept you like that”.

Within almost an instant, he bowed his head in realisation and said nothing. He knew, as a millitary person himself that there is one fundamental rule that cannot be changed despite his elevated political position.

The terrain is to be worked with, not fight against.

Whether we like it or not, we have to work with the world and its expectations, not challenge it with blind fervour or so called “personal principles” because the result will not only be painful, they can sometimes be deadly, as in the case of political leadership.