Effort, Water Shrews, and Economic Disorientation
“We accept that change will take effort and that through the power of progression each little step will take us closer to our destination.” Andrew Ledford © 2000 –2009
Almost all change takes effort, It doesn’t matter if we’re initiating change or responding to it. Change breaks the equilibrium of our daily rituals. We all get into habits that make life easier. Habits have a very useful purpose they allow us to efficiently go about our daily tasks without wasting time and effort on routine orientation. While our habits and daily rituals may not be Significant Point of Reference they are points of reference used for daily orientation. When my daily habits are challenged by change I’m always reminded of what Konrad Lorenz said about the water shrew in King Solomon’s Ring. Basically the water shrew develops a very strong path-habit so it can move swiftly along its path even though it cannot see well. If the path is changed the shrew becomes quite disoriented. The disoriented shrew becomes lost in its own yard and must painstakingly find it way anew.
The lost shrew who must find its path anew is not unlike what people must do when their lives are changed. The greed of unregulated banks in the early twenty-first century caused this same type of disruption in the lives of people around the world. The lives of people thrown out of their houses by the banks created a major change that sent global economies in a downward spiral. The banking corruption of this period disoriented large segments of the world’s population. With disorientation comes change. When people no longer have a way to meet their basic needs they have a problem. People being the resourceful creatures they are, adapt and find a way to survive.
Part of adaptation is finding a solution that works in a new changed environment. Finding a behavioral solution to the new challenges of a changed economic landscape requires some exploratory behavior. Exploratory behavior requires effort. Often new behavior isn’t very rewarding. When a behavior isn’t rewarded it tends to undergo extinction. It can be difficult to perform new behaviors long enough and with enough variety to find something that works in the new environment. In the case of our example the new environment is a new economic environment. It’s interesting that along with adapting to a new economic environment we also need to address a changing physical environment caused by climate change.
It is true, the only thing that’s constant is change.
It’s our job as world citizens to develop a set of rules that give us the flexibility to change with our environment. If we can see change approaching while it’s in the distance then we can exert extra effort before there is a crisis.
Wishing you the best in dog training and in life,
Andrew Ledford