The fight or flight response is a reaction that either prepares our body to stay and fight or flee. These triggers arise when we are dealt with stressful situations. For example, witnessing a robbery or something less life-threatening such as presenting to a large audience. Regardless, these are the situations typically met with signs of increased heart rates, trembly hands, and fear of the unknown. Without training our bodies to deal with these situations, the default response is to flee. We are not primed to handle unfamiliar situations. But what happens when a rare, non-anticipated opportunity presents itself? In this article, I am writing about our personal fight or flight responses to the key moments that occur in our lives—the moments that dictate our career path, our friends, our life goals, and much more. They have long-term implications that cascade over the years and ultimately influencing the way we live our lives.
Seeking Discomfort
Sticking to the status quo is easy. It is much harder to choose the difficult and uncomfortable decision—the one that propels our growth. In 2017, I participated in a university pitch competition in the hopes of boosting my resume to land a better job. I pitched Empower to give accessible educational resources to vulnerable populations in Africa through a software application. I sought acknowledgment from the university and the United Nations to add credibility to my presentation. The university agreed to provide funding to build a minimal viable product and the United Nations offered me the chance to go to Africa and pilot it. After winning the competition, I achieved what I set out to accomplish—adding a unique experience onto my resume. However, I was also faced with another decision: pilot the software in Africa or start looking for jobs with my new found experience. The idea for a 21-year-old student to live in the slums of Africa to execute this project sounded ludicrous. I was inexperienced with minimal leadership skills to lead this project. Furthermore, I would get no pay and be placed in potentially dangerous situations for the entire summer. Several people took a chance giving me the opportunity of a lifetime, so I took it. I changed course; the job can wait. This uncomfortable decision has made some of the most profound impacts on my life to date.
Lifelong Learning
I am passionate about lifelong learning. The self-motivated pursuit of knowledge and personal growth is the cornerstone of making important life decisions. After the Empower gig, I was sitting in my living room in Toronto thinking about whether to apply for an entrepreneurship program called The Next 36 or actively seek job opportunities. I applied and was accepted into the program. However, the decision to join was not obvious. I would receive no income, enter the unfamiliar field of entrepreneurship, with other unknown variables such as team members and funding. Choosing the Next 36 over a job became a very educational experience combined with personal growth opportunities from starting my own company. Irrespective of the outcome, the rate of learning was exponential—once again, other opportunities can wait.
Working Hard
This is the level of effort, energy, and time I invest in work. This isn’t referring to working hard from 9-5, then spending time with friends during the evenings. It is the decision to completely immerse myself into startups with every waking moment. It is the commitment to put my blood, sweat, and tears without regretting that I should have tried harder. When I raised money from Amazon for VoiceHero, I couldn’t do anything without thinking about the business. I dreamt about the startup: what my next moves would be, all of the things that needed to be done from the moment I wake up, the people I needed to meet, and the endless fires that needed to be put out. I struggled, hard. I had to tell employees that I couldn’t meet payroll because I didn’t figure out our sales model, disappoint our customers by changing our product completely, and eventually telling my investors the company is shutting down. Trying as hard as I can, regretting nothing, and moving past the things I couldn’t control was the best way to fight.
Internally, with every major decision we make, we ask ourselves whether to fight or to flee. If one flees too often they may never seize the moment to fight, and by default, return to the status quo. Or even worse, be too oblivious to recognize the rare opportunity in front of them.