Okay, so today I decided to dive into this whole “lion and fox” thing from Machiavelli. I’d heard about it before, you know, be strong like a lion, cunning like a fox, blah blah blah. But I wanted to actually try to understand it, not just read some quotes.
First, I spent like an hour just trying to find a good, readable version of The Prince. There’s a bunch of old-timey English translations, and my brain just glazes over. Finally, I found one that was a little more modern, and I started reading.
Getting My Head Around It
It’s not exactly light reading, let me tell you. But I stuck with it. The part about the lion and the fox is in Chapter 18, where Machiavelli’s talking about how a ruler should keep his word… or not.
Basically, he says that sometimes, keeping your promises is a bad move. If it’s going to hurt you, ditch the promise! That’s where the animals come in.
- The Lion: Strong, powerful, scares away the wolves (enemies). But a lion can get trapped, right? It’s not always the best at seeing the snares.
- The Fox: Sneaky, clever, can spot the traps a mile away. But a fox isn’t going to win a fight against a pack of wolves.
Machiavelli’s point is, you need to be both. You gotta have the strength of the lion to crush your enemies, but also the cunning of the fox to avoid getting tricked or outmaneuvered.
Putting it into Practice (Sort Of)
So, how do you actually do this? I’m not ruling any countries, so I tried to think about it in terms of everyday life. I decided the best place for that practice was my work.
- Lion moments: I tried standing up for the whole team’s idea. You have to show that you’re not a pushover.
- Fox moments: I needed to figure out how to deal with a co-worker who’s always trying to take credit for my work. I decided to not confront them publicly.
It’s about finding the balance. Knowing when to roar, and when to slink around in the shadows.
I can not say I fully achieved this pricinple,but it’s the first step of the long journey.
My Takeaway (So Far)
It’s not about being a jerk, it’s about being smart. It’s about being aware of your strengths and weaknesses, and using them to your *’s a journey, not a destination, right? I’ll keep you posted on how my “lion and fox” experiment goes. Maybe I’ll have some epic tales of workplace domination to share next time (or maybe I’ll just get fired… we’ll see!).