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A man tried saving a snake stuck in the thorny bushes and as he did that, the snake bit him repeatedly. He however continued with his efforts trying to ignore what the snake was doing to him until he was able to pull him out and set free. Another person watching him do this from a distance was bewildered and asked why he continued saving the snake even though it was biting him.
The man smiled and said, ‘the snake did what it had to and I did what I have to’ before continuing to walk farther into the forest.
Most of us are also slaves to our habits performing the same action repeatedly without giving a conscious thought to its relevance and appropriateness in dissimilar contexts. Snakes can repel the predators and eat the prey using this habit loop, however biting the hands that is trying to save can put anyone in trouble. Recognizing when to abandon and follow a routine is critical to our survival. We have evolved over the years replacing old ways of doing things with newer and finer ways in the form of adaptation and learning.
Ensuring we keep at it and use this knowledge for personal development can help us in becoming even more efficacious. We are witnessing this change at a macro level as more and more companies are investing and embracing new technology while consciously and continuously searching for and adopting new and efficient ways of doing things. This not only help them keep ahead of the competition but also ensure their survival for the future.
We as individuals should also keep an eye on what habits we have got ourselves into and if they are the right ones considering what is happening around us. If the world around you connects using social media, you may have to find out ways to connect in similar way even if you think it may be a waste of time. It could be, but then, if your work requires you to know what is trending, keeping insulated from it can backfire by depriving you of the information, which needs knowing.
A critical aspect of unbridled personal growth is a will to learn, unlearn and relearn. What this require is, keeping our senses open to new experiences, getting rid of what has ceased to work and immediately alerting our brain to focus on a plan to adopt what will work in the newer milieu. Having this flexibility not only keep us nimble but also more alert and responsive to change.
This has been best exemplified by companies who immediately resorted to using their existing resources to focus on manufacturing products having a high demand during this covid-19 crisis. They were able to spot the opportunities early on while redirecting and manipulating their current capabilities to cater to the demands of the new environment. Liquor companies manufacturing sanitizers while tailoring shops sewing masks.
If this is possible for companies run by multiple human minds, we as a single unit of brain should be able to practice and implement it with even better results.
deepak sharma writes 