5 Things You Must Learn from an Animal You Might Not Expect

As people try to get things done as fast as possible, an animal that we all know does the exact opposite. The sloth’s slow movement is one of the main reasons it survives in the wild, it is also something humans can learn from.

From all the way back in kindergarten when we were first introduced to these animals, we’ve all been fascinated with these creatures. Those who are lucky enough to see one in the wild probably regret spending hours upon hours to find an unmoving sleeping creature. This reality of sloths being so sluggish has placed them in the rear view mirrors of our fast moving, sleep lacking lifestyle that we all know and love. However, what sloths teach us most, in contrast to our lifestyles, is the importance of conserving our sleep and energy. So, whether you clicked on this article because you are one of the 14 sloth lovers in the world or you are interested in our contemporary lifestyle. 

Here are 5 things to adopt from sloths that will improve your life.

• Ignore what doesn’t matter to you.

In an experiment sloth’s heard gunshots close to them and although they have great hearing they made no reaction, this is because the gunshots did not matter to them and if they were to have reacted, it most likely would have made their own situation worse. This is very commonly seen in our own lives, when sometimes reacting to a problem only worsens the situation and the only adequate thing to do is to ignore the problem or wait. Sometimes, discounting problems is the best way to deal with them.

• Get lots of sleep.

Sloth’s rest an average of 20 hours a day, that means they only have hours of activity. Humans in contrast have a recommended 7-9, however, most people rarely get 6 or 7 which is considered the minimum. Sleep is extremely crucial to recharge your brain so you are able to think and even if you see no difference between 5 and 7 hours of sleep, having less than 7 hours of sleep makes a massive increase in the chance of stroke. These creatures teach us that we can often underestimate the true power of sleeping.

1. Don’t be afraid of failure.

The sloth’s most natural resting spot —branches— are often vulnerable to breaking if they’re dead.  This means that sloths do often fall from trees whilst clinging to dead branches, however, whenever they fall, they never give up sleeping on branches. They wish to achieve they’re comfort and do not really care if they fail in the process, there will always be more branches for them to climb. In contrast to these relentless creatures, humans often give up relatively quickly after failing, this can often lead to regret, something sloths will never have because of their persistent attitude.

• Eat according to your needs.

These veggie eaters can afford a meager diet due to their lack of movement. Humans in contrast may eat too much in regards to how much physical exercise they might be getting that day, and although I am not suggesting that you eat as little as a sloth does, eating more when you exercise more and less when you exercise less is very important. 

• Take.        it.          slow.

The reason that we’re here talking about these curious creatures is because of this trait. They’re so slow. Humans almost always perceive slow as being a negative trait, for sloths, it’s not only a way of living, it’sits life and death.These creatures, precisely by being as slow as they, survive because of it. Their meager diets are a result of their severe lack of movement. The reason that they survive in Darwin’s great playground is because of just how slow they take it. Sloths will often move as slow as 4 meters per hour.  That means it would take them 23 hours to traverse a football field! Humans need to take a lesson from Sloths and slow down our fast rushed lives to a more sustainable level, like sloths do.

Although acting like a Sloth might not earn your boss’s praise, incorporating some of their ideals into our daily lives could help us beyond our knowledge. And hey, maybe one day you’ll find yourself a sloth friend who you can talk to… slowly.