{"id":32388,"date":"2015-04-22T11:46:55","date_gmt":"2015-04-22T19:46:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=32388"},"modified":"2015-04-22T11:46:55","modified_gmt":"2015-04-22T19:46:55","slug":"how-ants-survive-rush-hour-stop-using-ego","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/how-ants-survive-rush-hour-stop-using-ego\/","title":{"rendered":"How Ants Survive Rush Hour (and why putting your ego in check will change your life)"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

<\/p>\n

It\u2019s everyone\u2019s nightmare. \u00a0Rush hour. \u00a0Inching along interminably as too many cars navigate too few lanes, with too many merging in and too few turning off.<\/p>\n

Who would have imagined that King Solomon already anticipated the chaos of our highways when he declared, Go, sluggard, and learn from the ant<\/em>?<\/p>\n

As it turns out, ants are better drivers than we are. \u00a0And the lessons of their highway habits offer some valuable lessons that extend far beyond the way we drive.<\/p>\n

According to NPR<\/a>, Apoorva Nagar discovered the connection in a study by German and Indian researchers. \u00a0Apparently, traveling ants are able to maintain a constant speed regardless of the number of ants on the path. \u00a0In other words, even at rush hour, ant traffic carries on unimpeded.<\/p>\n

Professor Nagar, a physicist at the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, suggests three reasons why ants don\u2019t bottleneck as traffic flow increases. \u00a0First, ants don\u2019t have egos. \u00a0They don\u2019t need to be first, don\u2019t need to show off, and don\u2019t take it personally when another ant cuts in front of them.<\/p>\n

Second, they don\u2019t mind fender-benders. \u00a0Sure, a multi-ant pile will slow them down. \u00a0But a few minor bumps and scrapes have little impact on their progress. \u00a0Even with incidental bumping and knocking, the ants just keep on moving forward. \u00a0Needless to say, humans would never tolerate the most glancing or superficial collisions, even if the law permitted it.<\/p>\n

And third, says Professor Nagar, ants get more disciplined as the crowd thickens: \u00a0they hold their speed steadier and make fewer twists and turns. \u00a0In contrast to human drivers who cut in and out while breaking and accelerating, ant discipline creates a road culture of greater predictability and, consequently, greater safety and consistency.<\/p>\n

Granted that ant behavior may have limited practical application to human driving habits and traffic patterns, the observations offered by Professor Nagar suggest other benefits to improve the quality of daily life.<\/p>\n

NO EGO<\/p>\n

Have you ever watched someone else hopelessly caught up in his own ego-gratification? \u00a0Sometimes it\u2019s the driver trapped behind a slow-moving car, desperately looking for a chance to break out and around. \u00a0And what happens when he gets his chance? \u00a0More often than not, you catch up to him stuck behind the next car or idling at the next stoplight.<\/p>\n

Or what about the person who has to be the center of attention or the life of the party? \u00a0He thinks he\u2019s the darling of the crowd, but the dismayed expressions among his captive audience frequently tell a different story.<\/p>\n

When we stop worrying about where we rank compared to others and stop needing others to validate our existence, we become a lot more comfortable with where we are and end up making progress with far greater efficiency.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s actually pretty easy when we start asking ourselves the right questions:<\/p>\n