A Test

In a competitive society, everyone wants an edge that makes them stand out and increases their chance at success. However, if you become too attached to your edge or advantage, it could become a disadvantage. An advantage becomes a disadvantage when it alters your perspective and prevents you from thinking outside the box and seeing the big picture.

I once heard a story that illustrates this idea:

An illustrious company ran an ad offering high wages to attract talent to work for them. Over a thousand people applied. Of those, a hundred candidates were selected for further screening.

The owner of the company personally created the test to determine the best candidate for his enterprise. The test paper contained but one scenario: “It was a stormy night. As powerful wind and rain drove down the temperature, one store after another closed before their usual time. The streets were deserted, save for three people waiting anxiously under a dim streetlight at a bus stop for a bus to come. Though the bus was nowhere in sight, you happened to be driving by and saw the three waiting people. When you looked closer, you saw that one of them was an old man, looking very ill and needing to be rushed to the hospital. The second person was a physician who had once saved your life. You had been looking for a good opportunity to repay your debt of gratitude to him. The third and last person was none other than your beloved girlfriend. They all urgently needed your help, but your car only had room for one person. Which one would you take?”

The scenario and question might be an aptitude test or a way to find out the applicants’ ability to think on their feet or handle a crisis. Whatever it was, applicants needed to provide an answer that could satisfactorily resolve the dilemma.

After pondering for a while, the candidates began putting down their answers.

Some wrote that they would take the sick old man. His life was in danger. Nothing is more precious than life, and he could die if not brought to a hospital, so the choice was obvious. Though that decision would surely disappoint their girlfriend or the physician that had saved their life, they could explain to them later.

Some said that they would take the physician. They argued that this was a perfect opportunity for them to thank him for saving their lives. People who didn’t know how to be grateful were no different from beasts. As for the old man, his days were obviously numbered. Even if he was saved now, he likely wouldn’t live much longer. Besides, he was a total stranger. They wouldn’t feel too guilty not saving him. And they reasoned that if their girlfriend didn’t forgive them for choosing the physician over her, they could only let her go. They would meet other girls.

Some chose to take their beloved girlfriend. After all, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win the girl’s heart. If they missed it, they might never encounter such a great opportunity again. They could look for another opportunity to pay back their doctor, and as for the old man, they decided that others would save him.

Some examinees wrote that they would drive straight past without stopping to take any one of the three. They reasoned that if their car could take only one person, it was beyond them to solve the problem. Since there were bound to be two people disappointed regardless of the decision, why put themselves in that position? Besides, the bus might come any second. Even if it didn’t, other cars would come along. Surely someone else would stop to help.

Other answers appeared on the test sheets, each reflecting an examinee’s values and attitude towards life. But of all the applicants, the owner of the company singled one out as superior and hired him. That applicant had answered like this: “I’d hand my car keys over to the physician to show my gratitude for saving my life. I’d ask him to take the sick old man to the hospital, while I’d stay and wait with my girlfriend for the bus to come. She would need my support and company and this would be a great opportunity to show my love for her. When the bus comes, I’d board the bus with her and accompany her home.”

Just like that, the applicant provided a great way out of the dilemma and won his way into the well-established company.

The applicant was able to give a satisfactory answer because he had managed to get around the blind spots and think differently. The other applicants had been too attached to their own viewpoints—that they had to stay behind the steering wheel—to think outside the proverbial box. The box limited what they could see of the problem and prevented them from working out a good solution.

The one who passed the test did it by willingly relinquishing his car keys and his control of the car. He let go of a definite advantage, especially on a dark and stormy night. But not being limited by his advantage resolved the ethical dilemma in the scenario. Letting the car go actually worked to everyone’s benefit in the end—the original problem was resolved and everyone received what they needed.

This story illustrates how letting go is actually the best way to receive. Letting go of something leaves your hands open to receive something new, something better. If you hold on too tightly to what you have, like the examinees holding on to their car keys, you might miss out on something better.

In life, we often need to make choices. Every major decision you make tests your wisdom. Attachment to your perspectives is the biggest enemy of wisdom. Opening up your mind, breaking away from fixed perspectives, and renouncing your attachments will reward you with unencumbered thinking, help you see the big picture, and lead you to make the best decision for yourself.