"It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed."
Napoleon Hill
Fascinated by the conduct of flying geese, Dr. Robert McNeish, wrote "Lessons From Geese" for a sermon in his church in 1972. Demonstrating the power of a good idea, his essay spread and has become a classic statement of the importance of teamwork.
We all have a lot to learn from the synergetic geese flock. It’s really beautiful how a flock of geese, or “skein” functions.
Let’s take a look at the facts and lessons within their cooperation:
- As each goose flaps its wings, it creates "uplift" for the birds that follow. By flying in a "V" formation, the whole flock adds 71 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew alone.
- People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going more quickly and easily because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.
- When the lead goose tires, it rotates back into formation and another goose flies to the point position.
- It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership. As with geese, people are interdependent on one another's skills, capabilities and unique arrangements of gifts, talents or resources.
- The geese flying in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.
- We need to make sure our honking is encouraging. In groups where there is encouragement, the production is much greater. The power of encouragement (to stand by one's heart or core values and encourage the heart and core of others) is the quality of honking we seek.
- When a goose gets sick, wounded or shot down, two geese drop out of formation to follow, help, and protect. They stay with the goose until its demise or until it regains the ability to fly again. When the wounded/sick goose heals, they launch out with another formation or catch up with the flock.
- We can learn a lot from the geese collaboration, we ought to stand by one another in difficult times as well as when we are strong.
- When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. It quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it.
- We ought to stay as a collectivistic society, in formation with those headed where we want to go. There is virtue to be found in receiving their help and by giving our help to others in need.
It is inevitable that we encounter someone who will make our life more difficult, and it may also be inevitably important to cooperate with them.
Through these difficult times, it is never easy to simply shrug off the disrepute or disregard what some would consider, ignorant behavior. However, we can all benefit from even the most difficult of people, because when we are able to handle a situation by collaborating in conflict, we are well more prepared for our next conflict.
As cliché as it might sound, Friedrich Nietzsche coined the quote best: “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”
Why not find strength and strengthen others? Perhaps easier said than done, but let’s do it together for a stronger tomorrow.
Remember that people with high self-esteem are willing to give and receive. People who love themselves will tend to love others. People who respect themselves will tend to respect others. By the same token, people who are strong will tend to strengthen others.
Guest Author: G
Editor: Lawrence
Nice one!
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