The Fittest – Self Improvement and Survival
There’s much we can and should learn from the animal kingdom, with the most significant lesson being that only the best survives to see another day. A lioness chasing a herd of wildebeest across the African plains knows that it’s the slowest of the lot that she has to target. A mongoose may not seem to be much of a match for a cobra, but it holds its own and emerges a winner because of its quick reflexes. When two male animals lock horns over a female of the species, the stronger and wilier one wins both the fight and the female. An ant may be an insignificant creature, one which we stomp on without a second thought, but it is clever enough to hoard food for times when it is scarce.
We can go on and on about the wonders of the animal kingdom, about how creatures that have no sixth sense seem to have much more common sense than humankind. However, what would be more useful is if we took a leaf out of the books of these creatures and applied their wisdom to improve ourselves and our way of life. You’ve probably heard of the “Survival of the Fittest” postulation (no, it was not Charles Darwin who put this forward as most people believe; British philosopher Herbert Spencer coined the phrase based on the theory of natural selection that Darwin explained in his book On the Origin of Species) – here, fitness does not refer to just physical strength alone, but also to mental acuity and the ability to adapt to change and go with the new flow instead of trying to fight it.
So based on this, what can we learn from the animal kingdom that helps improve ourselves? Looking at wildlife, we see that the species that adapts is the one that survives and evolves. Improvement is all about evolving and changing with the times; it is a combination of striving to achieve your personal goals within the constraints that restrict your life.
You could choose to improve yourself professionally and/or personally; the improvement can be on your terms, and constitute what you perceive to be necessary to make the quality of your life better and boost your inner satisfaction. Animals adapt naturally without applying thought because they’re instinctive creatures – put them in a zoo away from their natural habitats and they soon get used to their new surroundings if climate and other conditions are not too different from what they’re used to; keep them as pets at home and they become accustomed to your lifestyle.
Human beings however, must apply thought and planning in order to improve. Self-improvement can be achieved by adapting to your environment, playing to your strengths, and playing down your weaknesses. In order to improve, it’s important to take stock of your life, of your temperament, and of all the things that don’t satisfy you, within you and in your life. Think of what you can to do bring about a positive change in these aspects, and focus on doing these things. Self improvement is all about choosing good habits to follow, and working hard to inculcate these habits into your daily life.
This guest post is contributed by April Davis, she writes on the topic of Accredited Degrees Online . She welcomes your questions and comments at april.davis83 @gmail.com.
