3 Things I Learned From Hedgehogs

Hedgehogs are a spiny creature related to porcupines. They tend to live in hedgerows, but have lately, in Great Britain at least, had their numbers decimated as a result of their most common natural enemy, the automobile.

There are a few things we can learn from why and how this is happening.

Don’t Seek Comfort Without Thinking

Hedgehogs are mostly nocturnal creatures with fairly short legs. Given the fact that they like to live in hedges, which are often along road ways, they are given a choice between walking in the cool, dew-covered grass or on a warm, dry highway. Too, insects, a primary food source for hedgehogs, also congregate along the roadway.

Much like humans, hedgehogs prefer the easy, comfortable way and spend a lot of time on the dry, warm road with lots of food around. Unfortunately, this focus on comfort all too often leads to a prematurely short life. We humans do the same thing when we focus only on the easy way to satisfy our wants rather than thinking about how this can adversely affect our future.

Plan for the Future

Now, the tendency to put themselves in harm’s way may not be so bad for hedgehogs if they were built for a little more speed. Unfortunately, they have short legs and so can’t move quickly. When danger in the form of a car does approach and they finally decide to run, they can’t get out of the way fast enough.

We’re no different. Our physical and mental equipment isn’t designed to deal with all the possible needs for action at a moment’s notice, so we need to use them for what they are good at. We need to do our best to think of what can possibly happen as a result of what we’re doing, and plan how to cope with it ahead of time. Murphy’s Law may not be avoidable, but it’s effects can often be mitigated by planning.

Some Action is Better Than None

Obviously, roads are designed for cars. Hedgehogs aren’t born knowing this any more than we are. Once they do learn, though, it doesn’t seem to affect their behavior, for good biological reasons I am sure, but with fatal consequences. When they see a car coming at them, engine humming and headlights blazing, they tend to freeze in place rather than trotting out of the way. The result is foregone, as cars move very quickly, and tend to be bigger than hedgehogs.

As with the hedgehog, we often see impediments to our plans before they reach us. In the same way, a common human reaction is to ignore the coming difficulty until it is too late. Even if we don’t know the best move to make, any move is likely to be better than staying in place or continuing a behaviour we know will lead to difficulty.

These are three useful lessons, whether you’re talking about business, personal development, or your relationships. How would you apply them?

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