The Armour Doesn't Go Where the Bullet Holes are

Your natural instinct is to protect where you’ve been shot.  These could be actual bullets (I hope not) or psychological ones.  If you’re reading this, it means you’re still alive, physically or mentally, and you’re probably inclined to armour up right over those entry wounds.

But you’d be completely wrong.

During World War II, the United States Air Force was observing a number of planes coming back from missions riddled with bullet holes.  It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that adding armour to the plane would decrease the odds of being shot down by the Germans.  The increased armour would come at a trade off of increased weight, which means decreased range and reduced manueverability.

The scientists would measure every single bullet hole on each plane that came back, and came to the logical conclusion that the armour should go where the bullet holes were.

But there was a problem to their obvious solution: it was completely wrong.

They failed to account for survivorship bias.  They were only analyzing the planes that had survived combat.  They failed to realize that they should be analyzing the planes that were shot down and where specifically they were shot.

The correct answer of where to deploy the armour is precisely where the bullet holes aren’t.  The planes that were shot in this area were precisely the ones that didn’t come back.

Looking at the diagram above, some areas are immediately obvious: the cockpit and the propellers come to mind.  These two major points would be the “mind” and the “drivers” of the plane.

Which brings us to the point of this article…

In your personal life, what should you be actually protecting?  The natural instinct is to protect what is currently causing you significant stress or anxiety.

But you’d be completely wrong…

You need to protect what hasn’t been hurt yet that could actually kill or permanently cripple you, emotionally, financially and God forbid, physically.

I get it.  Chronic stress sucks.  You’re being riddled with bullet holes and if you take enough bullets, you will bleed out, but think about it.

You need to deploy armour against that single psychological, financial, or emotional headshot that ends you right then and there. 

More often than not, it means protecting yourself from you…you making that one…bad….50 caliber decision.

YOU are your own worst enemy. 

YOU know where your greatest weaknesses are.

YOU know exactly where to shoot.

You need to identify the cockpit and engines that keep you flying, then make absolutely sure they're protected at all costs. Everything else is just turbulence.

Quit wasting time patching up those flesh wounds from the past. 

Your real fight is staring down the barrel at those few critical weaknesses that could take you out if your ego gets the better of you.

It's time to get brutally self-aware, to armour up with some self-love and an iron will to survive and thrive, no matter what shitshow life pitches at you. 

The war has always been against yourself. 

You know where to wear the emotional Kevlar. 

Now grow a pair and do it.