Within the film Paycheck, Ben Affleck finds himself underneath assault from Uma Thurman’s futuristic climate machine. Buffeted by gale-force winds, Affleck raises his palms and calls out, “Alright, I quit! I quit!”
Thurman turns off the climate, smiles mischievously, and coos, “Don’t quit.”
There may be a couple of means to surrender. Within the sense of give up, it means to confess defeat, as in battle or debate. Within the sense of relinquish, it means at hand over, as in fee, property, or energy.
Yet one more synonym for quit is to capitulate, typically used to imply conditional give up. It’s that implied sense of conditionality that makes the phrase worthy of contemplation, significantly about one frequent variant . . . which occurs to be this week’s entry into the Moral Lexicon:
Recapitulate (re·ca·pit·u·late/ ree-kuh-pich-uh-leyt) verb
To evaluation, repeat, or summarize; to offer a brand new kind or expression to
To repeat the principal phases or phases of a course of
The foundation phrase capitulate derives from the Latin capitulum, that means head of a discourse or chapter. In the identical means {that a} capital letter signifies the start of a brand new sentence, a brand new chapter marks a brand new part within the story. And earlier than closing out one chapter, it’s prudent to revisit and consolidate the central thought or level of the earlier chapter.
However how does that designate the connection to giving up? With a small shift of focus, we are able to uncover a compelling new perception.
I continuously cite my faculty English professor Max Byrd, who remarked: “I’ve by no means understood why individuals complain about being disillusioned. I might be glad about the chance to be relieved of my illusions.” And the best method to dispel phantasm is with a wholesome dose of actuality.
We usually perceive the aim of summarization as offering a greater grasp of the fabric beforehand realized and at the moment being reviewed. That’s true. However it’s not the one profit.
Assessment is a detailed cousin of rethink. If our concepts are sound, a evaluation permits us to know them extra totally and internalize them extra deeply. But when our notions are nonetheless half-baked or in any other case flawed, recapitulation may help us acknowledge their imperfections, ideally to right them or, if mandatory, to desert them.
Herein we discover the connection to giving up. We don’t wish to stay invested in flawed concepts any greater than we wish to throw good cash after unhealthy in ill-advised enterprise ventures. The willingness to revisit concepts, seek for inconsistencies, and make the required changes is essential to sound judgment, sensible coverage, and moral decision-making.
Most of us can nonetheless keep in mind the early days of GPS when, upon deviating from the instructions dictated by our gadgets, we’d hear the phrase, “recalculating.” It wasn’t a rejection of the method that had introduced us to our present location. It was a reconsideration of the way in which ahead based mostly on new data, the capitulation of slavish loyalty to the previous to discover a surer path into the long run.
Enterprise folklore is full of examples of giants who vanished from the Earth as a result of they have been unwilling to capitulate. Eastman Kodak pioneered digital images however couldn’t relinquish its devotion to celluloid movie. Blockbuster contemplated the shift to streaming however determined it couldn’t quit late charges on tardy DVDs and videocassettes. And possibly there’s nonetheless somebody on the market who favors a PalmPilot over a smartphone touchscreen . . . however extinction is as inevitable as dusk.
Recapitulation offers the method for decision-makers to higher perceive their very own concepts, methods, and insurance policies. By reviewing with an open thoughts, we are able to reaffirm what we now have already concluded whereas concurrently tweaking, bettering, revising, and sometimes rejecting previous views. It’s not onerous if we’re keen to ask questions like these:
- Are the methods, processes, and instruments that received us right here going to maneuver us ahead?
- Has the taking part in area modified in order that we have to change our sport plan?
- How can we construct upon previous success in order that we don’t grow to be victims of complacency?
- What classes can we take from taking a flawed flip that may steer us again on track?
- Are we extra invested in a single particular plan of action than we’re in our long-term prosperity?
In spite of everything, we be taught as a lot from failure as we do from success. Usually extra. As Uma Thurman says to Ben Affleck: “It’s all we’re: the sum of our experiences. Apart from, a few of the finest issues in life are complete errors.”