Be a Zebra
A recent conversation I had with a friend left me reflecting on how we as humans cope with stress. The conversation was focused on how we tend to worry about the future and it causes us to forget about living in the now. This chat helped open my eyes to how important it is to live life right here, right now. We should not allow our worry about the future prohibit us from a current state of happiness.
My friend brought up a book by Robert M. Sapolsky titled "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers." While the book focuses on many different aspects of stress related disorders, the part my friend was focusing on dealt with how zebras live their lives. The basic gist of it goes something like this: when zebras are at the watering hole and there are lions there too, they don't stress about it. When they are getting chased by lions they freak out and run away. But as soon as the lions stop chasing them, they forget about their fear of the lions and continue to live their lives. They forget their fear. They don't worry about the possibility of the lions coming back. They continue on with their lives. And maybe we should take a page from their book.
The reality of it is, worrying gets us nowhere in life. We can worry, worry, worry but the situation we worry about will still happen and our worrying will do little to help us prepare for it. We need to focus on living in the now and not letting our worries get in the way of living our lives. Basically, we need to be a zebra.
My friend brought up a book by Robert M. Sapolsky titled "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers." While the book focuses on many different aspects of stress related disorders, the part my friend was focusing on dealt with how zebras live their lives. The basic gist of it goes something like this: when zebras are at the watering hole and there are lions there too, they don't stress about it. When they are getting chased by lions they freak out and run away. But as soon as the lions stop chasing them, they forget about their fear of the lions and continue to live their lives. They forget their fear. They don't worry about the possibility of the lions coming back. They continue on with their lives. And maybe we should take a page from their book.
The reality of it is, worrying gets us nowhere in life. We can worry, worry, worry but the situation we worry about will still happen and our worrying will do little to help us prepare for it. We need to focus on living in the now and not letting our worries get in the way of living our lives. Basically, we need to be a zebra.
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