The syndrome of the Boiled Frog : submission, denial, resilience, acceptance

[PiJo]

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Boiling Frog Syndrome : submission, denial, resilience, acceptance


     


Frogs are very similar to humans in the power of adjustment with the situation.

When you put a frog in a vessel of water and start heating the water, the temperature of the water rises, the frog is able to adjust its body temperature accordingly. The frog keeps on adjusting with increase in temperature. Just when the water is about to reach boiling point, the frog is not able to adjust anymore. At that point the frog decides to jump out but is unable to do so, because it lost all its strength in adjusting with the water temperature and its muscles are already partly cooked. Very soon the frog dies.



Boiling Frog Syndrome - Have You Become a Boiled Frog?
(No frogs were injured in the making of this video)


What killed the frog?

Many of us would say the boiling water. But the truth is what killed the frog was its own inability to decide when it had to jump out.

An example :
Let's say that every year, the local well had an inch less of water in it.
A person might realize there's a problem if there's suddenly NO water, but a slowly dropping level might not be an obvious crisis until it's too late !

This is a story that is used to illustrate how people might get themselves into terrible trouble if they don't react in time.
This parable is often used to illustrate how humans have to be careful to watch slowly changing trends in the environment, not just the sudden changes. Its a warning to keep us paying attention not just to obvious threats but to more slowly developing ones.

We all need to adjust with people and situations, but we need to be sure when we need to adjust and when we need to face. The frog-in-boiling-water syndrome, can arise in other and more serious situations throughout our lives where we willfully ignore an increasingly dangerous situation, telling ourselves that we’ll do something about it “soon”.

There are times when we need to face the situation and take the appropriate action.

If we allow people to exploit us physically, emotionally or financially, they will continue to do so. We have to decide when to jump.

The main reason we get into these situations is “Denial”, we stubbornly choose to remain in the same situation and get stuck in deteriorating circumstances and do nothing about it till we find ourselves at a miserable dead end.

Don’t be like the boiling frog. You are smarter than the frog.
Step back from time to time and take stock of situations in your life such as your health, your relationships, your career or job, your business and your investments. Do this regularly.
Let us jump while we still have the strength.



THE BOILING FROG SYNDROME in your life


To prevent burnout and build resilience we need to pay attention, develop awareness and recognise when the temperature is rising, by becoming familiar with the signs of heat (stress) given by our body, emotions, and thoughts.

In other words, it is time for citizens worldwide to say NO to our bosses, politicians, religious leaders, financial institutions, and rebuild our world with wisdom, goodwill, mutual assistance, disinterestedness, total freedom, ...

It is time for a big change !!





TEDxBerlin 112111 - Verena Delius : Don't be a boiled frog - jump!