Don't compare "worst" things, the price of inaction, the difference between humans and animals
In this week's IMM I talk about how your worst experience is your worst experience, what consequences we face when we do nothing, and how we differ from deers.
Don't compare "worst" things
No matter what anyone else says, the worst thing that's ever happened to you, is the worst thing that's ever happened to you. Their worst thing may appear order of magnitudes more serious and problematic than yours, but yours is still the worst you've had happen to you.
There seems to be an increasing trend of competition when it comes to negative occurences in our lives. If someone says that something bad happened to them, it is commonly (at least in my experience) met with someone else exclaiming "you think that's bad..." and then them going into a monologue about a similar (but "worse") thing that has happened to them. This is utter nonsense. What are we doing? Why can't we listen to each other, hold space for each other, and accept that anything bad someone goes through is bad and doesn't need comparison? At the end of the day the worst thing to happen to you will continue to be the worst thing until something else you experience takes its place. Other people can't force that thing to suddenly be 2nd worst because they shared their experience.
The price of inaction
We understand that actions have consequences. We grow up learning that if we hit a sibling, we get grounded. If we mess around in class, we spend time in detention. What isn't explicitly taught is that inaction also has consequences. We can spend so much time thinking about taking action that no action ever occurs, and with that we stay in the same spot, never venturing into the distance. The world is full of crossroads, not taking action is like standing at the crossroads looking one way, then the other, then back again, never actually making a decision, never taking that first step. Is it only when we look back that we realise what could have been. But you can't split test life; there isn't an option to not take the step but get the rewards from the adventure. Start moving, start taking action.
The difference between animals and humans
There are actually several differences but hear me out on this one; animals have reactions they can't do anything about, humans can override reactions.
A deer sees danger and immediately runs the other way, even if the other way is directly into traffic. Imagine a young child walking in a shop. They go to turn a corner and an adult is coming the other way and almost bumps into them, in shock the child turns and immediately takes a step, right into the path of a shopper with a trolley. This is very similar to a deer. The difference however is the child grows up and can start to override the reaction, a deer does not. As we grow, our prefrontal cortex is able to learn to intervene in these situations and "overpower" the reflexes we are born with. Think about a firefighter running into a burning building, no innate reflex would allow that to happen. But with training and sufficient understanding of the danger (and the protective measures in place), humans do run into burning buildings each day, and they get paid for it!