Why Did the Geese Cross the Road?

I was walking once in park.  The park had a road running through it that was a regular road used by motorist.  It wasn't the busiest road but it had a fair number of cars travel it.  While walking I noticed a group of geese on one side of the road.  Or a gaggle if you will.  Geese live in a group which makes them social but as this article explains their is flexibility for individuality as well.  I watched the geese eat grass on one side of the road.  Eventually one of the geese carefully crossed the road.  I suppose there was more grass on the other side of the road to graze on.  After the one goose successfully crossed the road another goose followed and also crossed the road.  Then two more crossed road.  More and more slowly waddled across the road until all of them had crossed.  All because the one took the chance and braved the road.  And then another was brave and decided to follow.  And then others decided to be brave and follow and so on.  Until all the geese had crossed the road to greener pastures so to speak.  That is a demonstration of leadership out of individuality.  One is brave and does something different based on their individual assessment, others then are brave and follow that individual based on their own assessment which then causes others to join in.  That is a lesson in leadership that has always stuck with me.  Does anyone else have any examples of leadership they would like to share?  

Essence of the Thing

People have things and they take pride in those things.  Our stuff can often be a representation of our interests and personality.  Or they can be useful tools.  Nothing wrong with stuff to give us joy in life.  But lately it seems stuff is more imprisoning many of us than letting our heart sore and helping us live our lives.  Many in our modern culture are often conditioned to always want something new and shiny.  We are constantly buying new phones, cars, clothes, TVs, computers, furniture, ect.  We have to upgrade our technology or buy warranties in case our screen has a scratch in it.  We are always under pressure to fix up our homes and yards or get new outfits to wear or have the latest gadgets.  I have seen people be crestfallen at a 6 inch scratch on their car.  According to an entire movie about happiness stuff doesn't equate to happiness though and many of the happiest people have very little.

How do animals react to their stuff.  You only have to try to take away a dogs favorite toy to know that animals can become possessive of things.  But they seem to just enjoy the essence of their things.  I have seen a dog have a great time with a stitched up mangled stuffed animal.  I have played with a dog with a dirty disgusting looking rope toy that was left outside for who knows how long.  The dog didn't care what it looked like it was still fun for her to play with.  I have played tug of war with my own dogs with a scrap of fabric that you would never guess was once part of a stuffed squirrel.  The fabric stilled served the purpose of us having a good tug of war.  I have seen a dog have the time of its life with less than a half of a rubber ball.    

And it's not just dogs that love simple toys just for the essence of it being something to play with.  Try crumpling up a piece of paper and throwing it for a cat.  It was one of my cat's favorite toys when I was growing up.  Chimpanzee's play with sticks as well as use various things for tools and they seem to make do with what they have to get the job done.  This article tells of crocodiles playing with flowers, cichlids playing with thermometers, and octopuses playing with empty pill bottles.  

These animals take joy in the simple things and they take objects that aren't food as what they are rather than elevating them beyond what use they can be to them.  If it is a toy than they have fun with it even if it is simple or not in good condition.  As long as they can have fun with it.  The essence of a toy after all is just something to enjoy.  Human children do this too.  They can still play with dolls and action figures if they are missing limbs.  They can use their imagination with none toy objects like pencils and erasers and have fun with them.  Many children love a toy so much it gets damaged and looks pretty thread bear but it still brings joy to them so they don't care.  As we grow up for some reason we seem to put more stock in what something looks like or how new it is rather than just enjoying what we have.  

And if it is a useful tool animals use it until it is no longer useful to them.  Chimpanzees our closest animal relative and fellow tool user doesn't seem to become obsessed with their tools they use them as long as they are useful and then move on.  Perhaps this more lighthearted play and practical tool use that animals and human children seem to know can lighten adult human hearts and free us to take more joy in life.

Fake It Till You Make It

The honey badger is a mammal that measures about 23 to 28 cm (9.1 to 11.0 in) from ground to shoulder and 55–77 cm (22–30 in) in length on average.  Here is a video of a honey badger standing up to a lion.  You can look up tons of videos and pictures of the honey badger standing up to all kinds of deadly animals from wolverines to hyenas to lions to snakes.  So how does a honey badger do this?  Well part of the trick has to do with the extremely tough skin of the honey badger.  But its more than that.  The honey badger appears fearless when meeting these deadly predators.  You see in nature it's all about confidence and how you present yourself and the honey badgers know how to present themselves. 

Animals don't want to get into fights unless they have to.  That's because a fight could result in injury or death.  And in the wild if you get injured that could be a big problem.  Animals can't go to the doctor and take time off from work.  An injury in the wild could leave you vulnerable to attack from a predator or leave you unable to hunt or get food.  Or it could get infected.  So if at all possible most animals avoid actually fighting.  The stakes have to be high to be worth the risk.  So instead animals posture.  They brandish their weapons, take up space, show dominant actions, demonstrate their strength, some make a bunch of noise, ect.  All to show that they have what it takes to go the distance and win the fight.  They are basically trying to prove that they will be willing to fight if they have to and that they will win the fight or at the very least not be worth the fight because they will do so much damage to their opponent.

All animals posture and try to demonstrate confidence but the honey badger is such an expert at this that it can convince lions and hyenas to back off.  The wolverine is also an animal known to take on much larger and powerful animals when it comes to food using sheer confidence and assertiveness.  So maybe we can take a page from animals such as the honey badger and the wolverine when we are faced with a challenge or an obstacle or a task that seems out of our league.  We can show confidence and act like we can take it on.  When people asked one of my human teachers in life if he could do a task he had never done before he was fond of responding with "I can do it at least as good as the person currently doing it the worst".  What he meant was that he may not be the best at it but he can certainly figure out how to do it.  That confidence and willingness took him far in life and allowed him a variety of experiences.

Now you might be saying well building up confidence is one thing but we can't posture ourselves into confidence like animals can.  Actually studies show we can.  This article talks about the work of Amy Cuddy  who has found evidence that just being in a confident and assertive posture(ie one that takes up space) will boost your confidence even after you are no longer in the posture.  Here is a TED Talk where Amy Cuddy states that doing an assertive posture for 2min before an interview will increase your chances of success.  I personally since first seeing this video have taken her advice before interviews and have yet to not get a job offer.

So perhaps the animal kingdom is onto something.  Our bodies are not just machines controlled by the mind but instead work together with the mind.  Everything in nature is in relation to everything else however indirectly it may be.  So why would our bodies and minds be any different.  So let them work together.  Be confident in body posture and mind confidence will follow along with skill.  And just like the wolverine and honey badger when we act like we can do something we can achieve amazing things.