THE BLACKLIST- Life Lessons from REDDINGTON

If there is anything I love it is learning to think ahead. But as much as I love to learn, actually thinking ahead is hard work. It can be mentally exhausting for those who aren't used to such a fine art...

And that is exactly what Raymond "Red" Reddington has a knack for. He is able to see 10 steps ahead. Sometimes I think that it is only possible to think in such a way on screens, that such dexterity and foresight only comes on when the cameras light up...

While that might be true for a lot, I am convinced that it is possible to have that kind of perception outside the screens...

I know it's like believing in time travel, but that's the thing about believing. You don't need to know for sure...

Initially, I thought to myself, "it is just not possible to be that smart". I mean Red could pull the most elaborate heists, while running 3 other different operations that needs his full input.

I knew that was not just the super-power called "multitasking" when I heard Red say that his secret was "reading". In this article I would focus on the lessons that involve people. The first one is

Read!

And do it a lot! Of course books are the primary subject of this lesson. I mean, reading a lot of books increases your awareness and makes you infinitely smarter, but even more importantly is learning to read people. Here is the reason why.

Everything you do on the planet earth would involve people in one way or the other. It is literally impossible to avoid people if you want to get to the top in any sphere or field. And Raymond understood that really well. He showed this clearly in a statement he made to Elizabeth Keen when she was hiding the fact that she had the fulcrum…

(apologies if you are yet to see the series)

here is how the conversation went.

RED: We need to talk about the Fulcrum.

LIZ: I told you, I don't know anything about it.

Reddington knew that she was lying, and he didn't just call her out on it.

He looked at her with a face that showed no emotion or in the very least expressed disappointment, but clearly demonstrated an intense degree of mastery and experience and said to her...

RED: Elizabeth, one of the reasons I'm still alive is due to my love of reading, whether it be words on a page that reveal the author's thoughts, emotions, imagination, or whether it be people in conversation, to ignore what they say and instead read their expression, posture, their gesture.
Lizzy, you're lying.

Being able to see beyond the words and the false expressions and mining the true intent of a person’s behavior is one skill that is bound to make life easier.

Master emotions!

Of all of Red’s skills, his ability to channel his mastery of emotions is one that is worthy of study. Here is what I mean.

Even though there are numerous instances where Red showed notable mastery of emotions, there is one that stands out for me. It occurs in Season 2, episode 9 titled “Luther Braxton”...

Again, apologies for the spoilers if you havent seen the series…

Reddington is trapped inside a high-security prison during a hostage situation that was organized by Luther Braxton who has a reputation for being a ruthless criminal mind.

Red is scared. But he knows that the only way to get out is to be calm and strategise. He needed to make allies within the prison to be able to fight Luther's men if there was going to be any chance of getting out.

He demonstrated a high level of control in putting his animosity for Luther aside and finding out a way to disrupt his plan in other to shift him into improvisation... and that is exactly what he did.

Once Luther began to improvise, it was only a matter of time before he made a mistake and Red was there to take advantage of it.

Red clearly knew how to control his emotions in view of the benefits that he stood to gain... and he demonstrated this time and time again.

It shows clearly that in life, there are times where it will be difficult to control your anger or happiness... but it would be necessary to do so for the greater good. It shows a level of foresight and discipline to be able to channel that energy in a direction that ensures a better outcome in the end.