198. Survival of the fittest…. not the strongest
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“The survival of the fittest is the ageless law of nature but the fittest are rarely the strong. The fittest are those endowed with the qualifications for adaptation the ability to accept the inevitable and conform to the unavoidable to harmonize with existing or changing conditions.” — Dave E. Smalley
Microsoft’s rise to the top is legendary. Their rise was surely not on the strength of their product. Around the same time, Xerox had exactly the same, or perhaps, better opportunity. It had a strong brand and better access capital too. But in hindsight, their strength did not help. Microsoft enabled more value creation and ended up taking the cake.
“Survival of the fittest” is a reasonably well-known dictum. For too long, I laboured a wrong perception about what that “fittest” meant. With the word “fitness”, the first thing that used to come to my mind was physical fitness — the one that one builds by working out in a gym. I’m sure there are ample benefits to working out — bigger muscles burn more calories and make one stronger. But, does working out necessarily improve health?
“Nature abhors a hero. For one thing, he violates the law of conservation of energy. For another, how can it be the survival of the fittest when the fittest keeps putting himself in situations where he is most likely to be creamed?” — Solomon Short
David Goggins is considered one of the toughest men alive. Several years ago, I read an autobiographical account of his called “Can’t hurt me”. I remember that book being very powerfully moving — I would have heartily recommended that book but for Goggins’ liberal use of unparliamentary language. For most of his life until he wrote the book, Goggins was fueled by an overpowering drive to become strong and powerful. He underwent SEALs training, Rangers’ training, multiple “Hell” weeks, worked out for several hours a day for several years. Goggins surely became strong, very strong but he also ended up finding himself on what seemed like his death bed. He worked out so hard for so long that his muscles became very tight, evidenced in things such as the tightness in his psoas muscle pulling his height down by two inches. He was strong — perhaps strongest person on the earth (arguably, surely) but he was not healthy at all. Only after he took up a serious stretching regimen, did his situation start to ease out. To be sure, it seems like Goggins put his purpose of becoming strong on high pedestal and hence his life’s work seems coherent with his actions.
David Goggins could be an extreme case but this point applies to most of us too. Many people who work out are not necessarily flexible enough to do something even as basic as sitting on the floor with folded legs. What will this translate into, as one ages? When I used to run regularly (I was generally doing two or three full marathons a year), given the scarcity of “spare” time — what with a full-time job and a young family — I ran at the exclusion of any other physical exercise such as strength training or stretching. I was injured often and perhaps that is what eventually caused my meniscus tear. The subsequent break in my running regimen gave me enough opportunity to work on my strength and flexibility (by taking up Yoga) and made me realize that running so many marathons probably helped my ego more (bragging rights!) than my health. Whenever I will be able to get back to running, I will aim for it to be more about improving my health than to feed my ego.
“There’s no such things as survival of the fittest. Survival of the most adequate, maybe. It doesn’t matter whether a solution’s optimal. All that matters is whether it beats the alternative.” — Peter Watts
Even in nature, among the most successful living things are bacteria. Bacteria are perhaps the oldest living things and even after close to four billion years of life on earth, they continue to exist and are, if anything, thriving. Bacteria are certainly not the strongest living things to ever live — that credit probably goes to dinosaurs. Bacteria seem content to be symbiotic partners with their host animals — they break down and digest food for their hosts. But the hosts have to keep them in control else at the first chance, bacteria are sure to overpower their hosts. Seemingly, bacteria are happy to be subservient but ready to dominate at the first opportunity.
In the game of Judo, it is not the strong and the powerful who win but the efficient and the agile ones. Strength is important, no doubt but it is not the be all and end all. It is not that strength is a disadvantage. Problem is with absolute strength. Strength can be a great advantage in the context of its purpose.
Evaluating fitness to purpose can be a very effective aid in helping calibrate our goals and also prioritizing them.
Bottomline
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, not the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” — perhaps paraphrased but surely attributed to Charles Darwin
Our society seems to prize “strength” and “achievements”. The strong are revered. Strength manifests in various forms — strong body (somehow big biceps and six packed abdomens are the most popular), financial riches. Achievements such as big careers, owning big businesses, fastest runners, etc are celebrated. No wonder many of us seek one or more of these as if they are the most important goals of our life. I am not sure if there is much point to a big career or financial riches if it comes at the expense of good health. Just good health without any human relationships may render life listless. Also, is there any point in any achievement when it is not accompanied by good health? It is not that big careers or huge wealth or running fast marathons is not important, it is only that such accomplishments become lot more meaningful when they are sought on the back of well-thought-through purpose.
Fitness-to-purpose is not just about surviving but also thriving. Based on the context, fitness could mean strength or flexibility, hardness or pliability, all-out-career or all-out-family or something in between or something else altogether. Being strong is OK but sensibly getting across the finish line is all that matters in the end.
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