Are You an Ant or a Grasshopper? Probably Both.
KAYLE SANDBERG-LEWIS BCN Fellow, MA, LMT
As the seasons shift, I am reminded of Aesop’s fable, The Ant and the Grasshopper: The ant is industrious and works through the summer warehousing food and weather-proofing his home while the grasshopper frolics in the summer sun, not preparing for the coming winter and, ultimately, dies of exposure. The moral of the fable is “be responsible for yourself - be like the ant!”*
The truth is most people are a mixture of ant and grasshopper. As an episode of the podcast Hidden Brain entitled You, But Better discussed, we have a “Present Me” and a “Future Me”. For most folks, Present Me tends to be more Grasshopper - seeking immediate gratification - while holding ant-like aspirations - such as saving for retirement or establishing a new health strategy - for Future Me. Unless Present Me acts and puts new plans in motion though, Future Me is stuck with the results of Present Me’s behavior.
Several people I have communicated with lately have expressed a sense of ennui and general inertia, especially since the pandemic has lingered and in some places resurged with tenacity. This listlessness and inactivity has increased the negative side of being Present Me; we are more apt to indulge in short term gratification but not perceive it as a “reward”.
How do we get ourselves to break this pattern and work towards goals that better serve Future Me? We may start by reframing that question and removing the word “work”. A variety of studies on getting people to enroll in savings plans, make dietary changes, or engage in exercise programs have shown that on average people are 60% more likely to follow through on improving life choices when the options are fun. As the motivational speaker Mary Poppins stated, “To every task that must be done, there is an element of fun - you find the fun and SNAP - the job’s a game.”
Years ago, I worked with an older gentleman who had been leading a sedentary lifestyle for several years. It was clear he needed exercise for a variety of reasons - he had Metabolic Syndrome - but nothing I suggested appealed to him. One of the National University of Natural Medicine students on our PsyPhy mentorship shift asked him if he had tried line dancing. While he hadn’t, he had witnessed people having a great time doing it at one of his “watering holes”, and he promised to give it a try. Within a few months he was visibly more vibrant, with a “spring in his step” that was obvious to everyone. He reported more energy, better sleep and required fewer pain medications. The prospects for his Future Me were much brighter than they had been.
When you can’t find the “element of fun” to make the job a game, you can instead try something called Temptation Bundling. This is when you give yourself permission to do something not particularly “healthy” while you’re doing something else that IS for beneficial. An example is listening to trashy podcasts or books on tape while exercising. You are, in a sense, rewarding Present Me while doing something constructive for Future Me.
Change is hard. Let me know how you have strategized to insert more fun into your life, to balance your ant and your grasshopper.
* Aesop failed to acknowledge the fact that ants live in colonies and rely upon each other for survival. It takes a colony to raise an ant.
Kayle Sandberg-Lewis holds a M.A. in Behavioral Medicine, the study of how what we do affects our well-being. She has over three decades experience in stress management and is board certified in neurofeedback, which she introduced to her practice in 1996. Kayle co-founded Hive Mind Medicine in 2019, where she currently offers neurofeedback to her clients. Telehealth consults are available.
Hive Mind Medicine blog posts are for educational purposes only and are not intended as medical advice. Please consult with your health care practitioner for personalized guidance. Click on the contact button below if you would like to schedule with one of our Hive Mind practitioners.