The other day I came across a short article that
clearly explained why it is so difficult to get people to change their
habits and beliefs. The article showed me that a simple creature like the
"processionary caterpillar" can teach us all a lot about life if
we are only willing to listen.
Processionary caterpillars travel in long, twisting
lines, one creature behind the other. A famous social scientist once lead
a group of these caterpillars onto the rim of a large flowerpot so that
the leader of the procession eventually found himself nose to tail with
the last caterpillar in the procession, forming a circle without end or
beginning.
Through sheer force of habit and, of course, instinct,
the ring of caterpillars circled the flowerpot for seven days and seven
nights, until they died from exhaustion and starvation. An ample supply of
food was close at hand and plainly visible, but it was outside the range
of the circle, so the caterpillars continued along the beaten path until
they all died.
It is hard to get emotional about a small group of
caterpillars who were too stupid to see that the key to their survival was
simply breaking out of their procession and moving over to the food that
was within sight. However, the really sad thing about this article is that
human beings often behave in a similar way. Habit patterns and ways of
thinking become deeply established, and it often seems easier and more
comforting to follow them than to cope with change and uncertainty, even
when that change may represent freedom, achievement, and success.
If someone shouts, "Fire!" it is automatic to
blindly follow the crowd, and many thousands have needlessly died because
of it. How many stop to ask themselves: Is this really the best way out of
here? So many people "miss the boat" because it's easier and
more comforting to follow - to follow without questioning the
qualifications of the people just ahead - than to do some independent
thinking and checking. People just assume that if everyone else is doing
it, it must be right.
But a little checking will reveal that throughout all
recorded history the majority of mankind has an unbroken record of being
wrong about most things, especially important things. For a long time we
thought the earth was flat and later we thought the sun, stars, and
planets travelled around the Earth. Both ideas are now considered
ridiculous, but at the time they were believed and defended by the vast
majority of followers. In the hindsight of history we must have looked
like those caterpillars blindly following the follower out of habit rather
than stepping out of line to look for the truth. It's a good idea to step
out of the line every once in a while and look around to see if the line
is going where we want it to go. If it is not, it might be time for a new
leader and a new direction.
It's difficult for people to come to accept that only a small minority
of people ever really develop a true vision about life, about living
abundantly and successfully. For some reason most people wait passively
for success to come to them - like the caterpillars going around in
circles, waiting for sustenance, following nose to tail - living as other
people are living in the unspoken, implied assumption that other people
know how to live successfully. So the next time that you have an idea that
seems to be different from everyone else - act on it. You may be the only
one who really understands and your leadership may be what they needed all
along.
