Will stubbornness be your downfall?

As I walked the seafront yesterday and stared into the churning murky abyss, I was reminded of so many people who have fallen foul of our raging coastline.

The sea is one of the most powerful forces on the planet; it is entirely uncontrollable at its full strength and will see off even the most tenacious and experienced sailor. It's hard to believe on a balmy summers afternoon, the warm shallows that entice us can become torrid, bone crushing waves in winter.

Stubbornly trying to get a photo yesterday, my hands were buffeted until it became impossible to hold the phone. Risking the imminent annihilation of a pricey device, I cut my losses and put it in my pocket. What you see above is the best I could capture, and as a picture hardly does the force of nature justice.

Standing there looking at the waves in front of me through watering eyes, I wondered who on Earth would be stupid enough to venture out to sea in such conditions. Contemplating the unlikelihood of a sailor setting sail on a stormy day, many people I’ve met who would do just that, came to mind.

They are the ones who, when seeing the ferocious state of the sea, would still choose to go into battle with it. They often refer to themselves as committed, resilient, reliable and honourable. They are the ones who are there 'til the bitter end, unwaveringly stubborn in the face of adversity.

Yet their shadow side can catch them out. It consists of misguided confidence, a determination to win or be right over-riding any sense of danger. The inexplicable misjudgement, often due to their addiction to conflict or competition would expose them to game changing risks. And tragically, my experience of those who take on such forces tells me it almost never goes well for them.

They eventually go into battle on a day when they should instead have taken shelter.

So entrenched in their position the stubborn become, they set sail knowing this could ultimately lead to the loss of their vessel and everything within it. Fuelled by habit and previous good fortune, they take on something bigger than them, stronger than them and less predictable than anything they’ve ever encountered before. And they are quickly outweathered - their ship unsalvageable.

I've no doubt some might survive to tell the tale and celebrate the scars. Indeed this serves to validate their strength of personality and bravery. And I must by honest and say I’m often the first to suggest that fortune favours the brave.

But as Simone de Beauvoir once said, “In the face of an obstacle which is impossible to overcome, stubbornness is just stupid.”

To the stubborn amongst us. Are you prepared to let stupidity be your downfall?