Lessons are learned in sometimes the oddest places and in unusual situations. Take for example the experiment conducted by John Henry Fabre in the early 1900’s. Fabre understood that processionary caterpillars follow one another to get to where they need to go for food, water or other survival needs. He decided to experiment with arranging the caterpillars to walk in a circle. With understanding nature, he figured that the experiment would last a few minutes, or maybe a few hours when the caterpillars would establish a survival mentality and acknowledge this routine was a mistake and change their course. But after a week, the caterpillars continued their circular walk to the point that some started to die off.
Similar to the processionary caterpillars who endlessly walk in circles and continue this pattern to the point of their own demise, people often continue patterns that are no longer productive, or that don’t serve their best interest. These habits may have been successful in the past, but now no longer work for current needs. This can be in relationships, eating and drinking, career, or anything else you thought you valued.
When you analyze where you are in your life today, is every part enabling you to be your best self? Are repetitive habits having unfavorable outcomes? What do you need to change to carve a path for your success so that you are not following circular patterns that used to work or following leaders that do not empower you? If you are not able to answer, may I recommend doing the following activity? Set up a spreadsheet that lists the following:
-Relationships
-Career
-Physical health
-Appearance
-Hobbies/Activities
Under each, list at least three areas you value. Then, in another column list three areas you would like to change or do not value. In the positive section rank 1 to 5 how much you value what you have listed. Five is the top ranking. In the negative column, list -1 to -5, with -5 being what you especially would want to change. Add up each section and combine your positive and negative totals for each section. If the total outcome is negative, maybe it’s time for you to make some changes. EYHLifeCoach is here for you if you want to explore this further. It’s time to change your circular patterns to carve your path for success in your personal and professional endeavors.
By Christina Dalton, MS, PPS, PCC, EYH Life Coach
