Lessons We Can Learn From Nature: The Superpower of Choice
All Organisms Have Superpowers
If you learn enough about plants and animals like I did as a field and wildlife researcher for years, you begin to see how each and every species on this planet is unique and powerful in its own special way. Many are special for simple reasons such as having razor-sharp claws, or the ability to fly, or to breath underwater. Some are more unique like the bombardier beetle being able to shoot boiling hot chemicals from its body, or a tardigrade being able to survive in extreme temperatures without any source of food or air. Some are very subtle like a jellyfish being able to float around literally mindlessly and remain satisfied, a trait that most humans would be envious of in this day and age of rapid progress and immense pressure to have direction and become successful (whatever that means). Even a giant tree like a Sequoia has the subtle yet incredible power to defy gravity and move water 300+ feet up its body to nourish its leaves, which is impossible for anything else to achieve unless its a man-made machine. I like to view these qualities as superpowers because it creates a deeper respect for our fellow inhabitants of Earth, but also because most superpowers in the comic books and movies are actually based on traits found in natural organisms.
The unifying principle amongst all these animals, however, is that they don’t have a choice in their superpowers. Nearly all organisms are born with a few basic abilities and lack the power to do anything differently. Except for humans. Human beings have the best superpower of all; the power of choice. The power to create. The power to be anything we want to be.
A bear might see a bird fly away and wish it could fly knowing it will never be able to. Humans see the same thing and choose to create that for themselves in the form of an airplane, hang glider, wing suit, etc. A fish sees an electric eel electrocute another fish and wishes it could electrocute the eel right back to save its fish friend, but a human sees that and chooses to create a taser or a stun gun. In fact, we see a fish breathing underwater in the first place and choose to create scuba gear. The list goes on and on but the point is that we can choose to create anything we want in this world, which is pretty much the power of the gods.
But ironically most humans see themselves as animals and plants being victims to their limited mindsets. Having the power of choice is like getting granted a wish from a genie and wishing for infinitely more wishes. You could wish for the brain of an animal and only be able to do a few basic behaviors to survive and reproduce, or you could wish for a human brain and unlock all the doors of possibility beyond just survival and reproduction.
Don’t Make Excuses or Life Will Excuse You
Now, some of you might be thinking well hey I wish I could play the piano but I don’t know how to and I don’t have access to a piano and I don’t have time to learn it and I’m no good at music and blah blah blah I can’t do what I want to but that’s not true it’s just you giving up without even trying or rather not trying hard enough. We have the power to choose how we behave and you can choose to accept your weaknesses and give up on them, or you can choose to focus all of your effort on them and create a new version of yourself. Humans have the amazing quality of brain plasticity meaning that our brains can be molded and changed throughout our life; we are extremely adaptable. Some things might not take a whole lot of effort to change, like an artist learning a new art related skill. But some things might take a ton of effort to create like a dancer without a college degree transforming into an astronaut. The part to focus on is that it is possible to transform into whatever you want to be as long as you realize you have the power to choose to create your new self. It requires daily focus and practice and more effort than most things in life, but nothing worth achieving is ever easy.
We Choose Our Actions
We don’t choose our thoughts, but we do choose our actions. Most of our actions are ingrained in our subconscious, like our heart beating or the food we eat or the words we choose to speak in any given situation. This is similar to how an owl might choose to eat a rodent, it is making the choice based on the subconscious program that has been hardwired into its brain. It might wish it could choose to eat something different but unlike humans it lacks the power to choose what to eat, to go against its subconscious program. Humans have the power to choose to go against our subconscious program; to change our behavior.
We have to first recognize where we have been living on autopilot and to be realistic about how much effort is required to take back control of the autopilot system. Here are a few basic factors to contemplate:
~Age: The older you are the more ingrained your behaviors are and thus more effort will be required to enact radical change in your life. It’s harder to teach an old dog new tricks but it’s still a dog and therefore it can always learn new tricks.
~Passion: If you don’t really care to change then it’s going to be really hard to actually change. You have to CHOOSE to take action to create your new life. If you take an action towards bettering yourself then you care and you need to hold on to that feeling.
~Tools: Do you have access to the tools you need to change? Well if you’re reading this then that means you have a smart phone or a computer or some sort of highly technologically advanced device which also means you have access to YouTube, Apps, etc which are some of the best tools ever invented for reinventing yourself as you choose to create your new self. If you don’t have access to all the tools you need then you’ll have to put in a lot more effort to make the money to acquire the tools you need, but often times there are options that don’t require as much money as you might think.
I’m a passionate music producer and one of the best lessons I’ve learned about producing music is that it has very little to do with the equipment, but has everything to do with learning how to be creative and to practice using the equipment as much as possible. So as long as you can get your hands on some sort of tool to allow you to practice the changes you want to make, then its up to you to put in the time and effort to learn it which brings me to my next point.
~Time: Do you have a family, do you have a soul sucking job, do you have a million obligations and feel like you literally have zero time to choose to do something differently? Chances are you can find at least one hour a day to take an action towards learning your new skills. If not, then you might want to consider radically changing your situation to make time for your new self. This ties back to the passion factor. If you really care to change yourself more than anything else then you will find a way to reorganize your life even if that means choosing to find a new job or waking up an hour earlier or giving up other unproductive activities and friends that are distracting you from becoming your next best version.
Based on these factors, it will be more or less difficult for you to choose your actions wisely and take the steps necessary to creating your new life. Fortunately, all it takes is a little bit of daily effort. You don’t have to quit your job and go full time into learning your new skills, although if you have the money to do that then go for it because the more time you spend taking the actions to become your new self, the faster it’ll be achieved. But for most people, spending just an hour a day every day for years will eventually accumulate in you being a brand new you.
Hearing that it might take years to become who you want to be might sound discouraging but it’s actually not discouraging at all. Having a realistic outlook on your expectations should be encouraging and hopeful because then you won’t be disappointed when you’ve only made a little bit of progress in a few months. It’s not about how fast you achieve something, it’s about actually achieving something before you die. Luckily, humans have a pretty long life span so a few years really isn’t that long. If you completely reinvent yourself every few years then you’ll achieve farrrrrr more than most people will ever achieve by being on autopilot for 40 years.
So realize in this moment that you are a superhero. You have the best superpower that any organism could ever dream of having. You have the power of the gods. You have the power to create the life you’ve always dreamed of. You’ve been granted a human brain, instead of a chicken brain. You don’t have to be a slave to your subconscious program. Choose to take advantage of your power to create. Choose to be the authentic you.
