If you had to be part of the animal world, which animal world would you choose to be part of? We all have characteristics that are both human and animalistic and in recognizing who we are and accepting ourselves, we also accept the underlying characteristics that define us as individuals and human animals.
We humans think we are superior to lesser species, such as animals, because our brains are larger or because we have the power of memory, recollection, sympathy and remorse. We think this makes us superior to animals but animals might just be the most powerful ones. Animals seem to have no regrets or guilty feelings to hold them back, so they are not saddled with feelings that undermine their self-esteem and lead to feelings of failure. Can you imagine how life would be without these psychological burdens?
Actually, I envy animals. Animals seek members of their own group—they don’t try to get in where they don’t fit in for the sake of prestige or blind ambition. They don’t seek relationships with birds or other sub-species that might be hostile to their kind. Animals look for kindred spirits as if to remind us, “Birds of a feather stick together.” Birds of a feather simply means, stick with people that you have something in common with. Animals do this naturally.
Animals know themselves and what they like, eat what nourishes them, and don’t overeat to the point of lethargy or illness. Also, animals never think about failure. They only envision success. Each day, they begin with one goal—food. Each day they fulfill basic needs and if they happen to fail, they don’t look back or complain. Animals follow a proven routine passed down from generations without questioning. Each strategic move is based on proven strategies that have worked through the generations. If they fail, it’s not because they didn’t have a plan. They graciously accept failure or success of their present circumstances. If they don’t make a catch today, they leave the scene and go home. The next day, they start all over again with hopes that they will succeed.
We all have an animal counterpart, at least I think we do. We need to find an animal that inspires us, and follow its routine when it comes to identifying and meeting our basic needs. Because we do have more emotions, we will be faced with more psychological challenges during the course of a day, but following our animal instincts will help us meet our basic needs such as, food, shelter, safety, intimacy and togetherness.
Some of us prefer to travel solo, like a leopard. Others prefer a group, like lions or wolves. Once we identify our animal counterpart, it will help with finding our comfort zone and accepting who we are, identifying our limits, beliefs and boundaries, and accepting our preferences when it comes to interacting with others.
If we want to be successful, we need to follow our animal instincts that tell us who we are. “Know thyself” is almost a cliché’, but it is always relevant. Once we find our animal instinct, we are able to build upon it and nurture it. Self-knowledge is the key to understanding others, and understanding others is the key to success. Animals do it and so can we.
Start with this list of questions for self-awareness and build on it:
1. Start with self-knowledge—what animal personality are you?
2. What are your predominant traits?
3. What are you needs?
4. How will you fulfill your needs day to day?
5. What is your philosophy of love, life, or happiness?
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