The Lighthouse Principle
- icmarquez
- Nov 19, 2017
- 2 min read
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The following story comes from U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, the magazine of the Naval Institute, Frank Koch illustrates the importance of obeying the Laws of the Lighthouse. In the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Dr. Stephen Covey uses this as an illustration of what he calls principles or the natural laws of life. It is a true story told by an ex-navy officer who was on the bridge of the largest battleship of the fleet with his captain one dark and stormy night.
Two battleships assigned to the training squadron had been at sea on maneuvers in heavy weather for several days. I was serving on the lead battleship and was on watch on the bridge as night fell. The visibility was poor with patchy fog, so the captain remained on the bridge keeping an eye on all activities.
Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing of the bridge reported, "Light, bearing on the starboard bow."
"Is it steady or moving astern?" the captain called out.
Lookout replied, "Steady, captain," which meant we were on a dangerous collision course with that ship.
The captain then called to the signal man, "Signal that ship: We are on a collision course, advise you change course 20 degrees."
Back came a signal, "Advisable for you to change course 20 degrees."
The captain said, "Send: I'm a captain, change course 20 degrees."
"I'm a seaman second class," came the reply. "You had better change course 20 degrees."
By that time, the captain was furious. He spat out, "Send: I'm a battleship. Change course 20 degrees."
Back came the flashing light, "I'm a lighthouse."
We changed course.
Reading this story made me realize that how I act and react to circumstances is a by-product of my scripting and upbringing.
Our perceptions, our views and how we see and perceive the world is often limited. And these, in effect, influence our behaviors and actions. It’s important to realize that we can never change others, we can only change ourselves. Change only happens inside out.
Where in your life have you found yourself in the position of the captain, demanding someone else to change course?
Recognize your ineffective scripts. The key to this is self-awareness. Practice self-reflection and have an action plan.
Sharing this quote:
“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.”
- Albert Einstein
Scripture Reference:
"The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks."
- Luke 6:45 ESV
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