‘Our boys didn’t die in vain’ syndrome
During the first world war, Italian politicians chose to send their army to fight a battle for a political cause.
Italy had become a unified nation not very long time back. Most people were farmers, not soldiers — certainly not trained in large-scale warfare.
At the beginning of the war, they sent 300,000 soldiers. It was one battle after another, 11 in all.
The country kept losing thousands of young soldiers. They kept sending more.
The only way to end the madness was to sign a peace treaty. That, however, would mean admitting their mistake of starting it all in the first place. It would mean telling the parents and families of all those who died, “Your boys died in vain.”
So they kept going.
By the end of the war, they had sent 5 million men! Approximately 460,000 were killed and 955,000 were wounded.
'Our boys didn't die in vain' syndrome is seen not just in politics and wars, but across various walks of life. You see it at work and in relationships.
When project teams get a wrong start, they keep on working on it for months and months, sometimes years.
When relationships become bitter, they still keep going for years and years until they become beyond repair.
Accepting that we didn’t start right would mean admitting our mistake. We hate to admit our mistakes.
We hate to admit that it was a waste to pour all our time and resources into the project. We hate to admit that it was a waste of time and emotions in the relationship.
As a result, we keep going.
You see crappy products in the market that no one wants, still getting funded, still being marketed, and still trying to sell...
The truth is it's never late to pivot. Whether it’s work or life.
It's never late to reframe the problem.
It's never late to come up with a new solution.
It’s never late to quit that shi**y job.
It’s never late to let go of the unrepairable relationship.
It’s never too late to free your mind of the burden.
It’s never too late to 10x your mind 🙌.