3 Advantages of an Enemy

Nearly 50 inches of snow fell in Buffalo, New York, three days in December 2022. Axios reported it was the longest blizzard on record. It was so bad cars were banned. Bitter cold across the US made conditions worse.

An enemy gives meaning to life. Image of downtown Buffalo, New York.

The temperature dropped 47 degrees in two hours on December 22, 2022, in Denver, Colorado and quickly settled in at minus one Fahrenheit. In Alabama they had a hard freeze warning on Christmas Eve. The Alabama Emergency Management Agency posted the following image.

Dress properly in cold weather. Image from The Alabama Emergency Management Agency.

3 advantages of an enemy (doing battle with a blizzard)

#1. Meaning and a blizzard:

The weatherperson here in Pennsylvania said the cold could kill you. He wasn’t joking. I cranked up the stove in my office (our family room before we added on) to fight the blizzard.

My snowblower and I did battle with the blizzard. I was glad I changed the oil in my jousting machine. The mundane means more in life-threating skirmishes. Even hot coffee tastes better.

An enemy gives meaning to life.

#2. Urgency and a blizzard:

An enemy provides urgency.

When the temperature was cold enough to kill us, we got our wiggle on when we walked from the garage to the warmth of our entry room (over 120 feet). Snow is angry when it’s below zero Fahrenheit. Our snow was grumbling. You feel the urgency of life when you walk on angry snow.

#3. Vitality and a blizzard:

Cold weather brings me to life. Warm temperatures put me to sleep.

Life is sleepwalking until you look an enemy in the eye.

Fighting for is better than fighting against. But in my case fighting against will have to do.

What enemy is bringing meaning, urgency, and vitality to your leadership?

What are you fighting against? Fighting for?

Still curious:

The 5 Powers of a Good Enemy – Red Sox Fans Hate the Yankees

*Image source of Franklin Street in Buffalo, NY: the Twitter page of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul