Think Like a Bear
It is January. You know what that means? New routine(s). New water bottles that will magically make you drink your 3-4 liters of water. New tupperware that will make you meal prep perfectly healthy (and DELICIOUS) lunches. New classroom routines that will make every student feel engaged, happy, and connected to the material. That is a lot of pressure on the month of January, which for many is a month that is filled with dark mornings and darker evenings. So how do you set goals without setting your new planner (that promised to fix your life) on fire? Well, look no further than right outside your door. Nature gives us the answer to so many of our problems. In thinking about the perils of goal setting, I decided to turn to one of nature’s design thinkers: the bear. To be clear, bears are not outside my door as I live in Miami, Florida, but I digress.
For bears they have five different phases in their annual cycle: hibernation, walking hibernation, normal activity, hyperphagia, and fall transition (1). Is it a coincidence that the bear’s cycle has the same number of steps as the Design Thinking model? I do not think so, as they are naturally design thinkers. If they are hungry, they do not sit in that hunger but are constantly working towards solving the issue at hand, even if they get stung by a bee in the process. Using this cycle as inspiration, can support meaningful goal creation and completion!
“5 Stages of Activity and Hibernation.” North American Bear Center, Bear Facts, https://bear.org/bear-facts/5-stages-of-activity-and-hibernation https://bear.org/bear-facts/5-stages-of-activity-and-hibernation
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- Empathize/Hibernation
Time to rest, reflect, and give yourself grace on this journey!
Now unlike bears, we humans do not have the luxury of sleeping all day. But this period should be the time where we gather our energy, reflect on the last year, and focus on what is feasible, desirable, and attainable for this upcoming year. You are your own user, so it is crucial to make sure that you reflect on your experience. Some questions to ask during the empathizing process are:
What do I need from myself to complete this goal?
What is my goal rooted in?
Once you have determined your goals, it is crucial to plan out how they will happen. Want to take students on a field trip? Read more? Save for a summer trip to Alaska to see…the bears? That is great! But then what? Here is an example of how I used this framework for my own goal to complete a half marathon this year! You can make your own version herehere!
- Define/ Walking Hibernation
Define what your goals are with a slow ramp up.
After hibernation a bear takes about 2-3 weeks before launching back into its bear activities in full force. If you want to focus on running, it can be challenging to go from the couch to running a half marathon in one day. Some questions to reflect on are:
What steps need to be taken to accomplish my goal?
Is my goal feasible, desirable, and attainable to me?
- Ideate/ Normal Activity
Working towards your goals to think through what works and what does not work.
You rested. You set your plan. You gave yourself an intentional start. You are now ready to be a bear. You are strong, you are fast, you are fierce. But if bears do not take care of themselves, they will not be able to hibernate properly. Similarly, your goals should not deplete you, but elevate you. If you find yourself overwhelmed by your progress, it may be time to adjust the goal. If a bear is not getting enough salmon from one part of the river it does not just keep fishing at that part of the river, it moves. During this phase you can think about the following:
What should I keep track of to make sure my ideas are working or not?
What data or signals will tell me if this is working?
- Prototype/Hyperphagia
Time for the intentional push.
During this time bears go into a period of excessive eating and drinking to prepare themselves for their imminent hibernation. Unlike bears, we are actually present during our hibernation phase. But how can we use this time to our advantage? During this time of the cycle we have been consistent with our goals. It might be a moment to say, can I push a little more? I have been running for 30 minutes 3x a week, could I do a fourth? This push is not a moment to shift your goals, but to rather start preparing for the next set of goals to see what you are capable of. Maybe next year I will try a full marathon! It is just an opportunity to engross yourself in the honey of your labor (I promise not to use so many bear puns again…actually, I shouldn’t promise that). You can consider the following questions:
What needs to be designed or done to support this push?
What small adjustments could make this prototype more sustainable?
- Test/Fall transition
What worked and what did not work, for this last cycle to prepare for the next cycle.
Bears are currently preparing for the rest and so should you. You might have determined that after working out 4x a week for 45 minutes, it was too much of a push. However, you enjoyed the increased frequency. In the next cycle, you are determined to keep a 4x/week schedule but return to 30-minute workouts, which you will bring into the new year. This reflection inevitably becomes the empathize phase of your next cycle.
You have had a year of working towards something, which is magical! Even if you do not hit the specific metrics, does not mean you failed. It means you are setting yourself up for the next cycle. If you did hit the metric, make sure to celebrate! Setting goals is brave, working towards those goals is an act of self-love. While this time of year can feel like so much pressure to be perfect, remind yourself of the illusion of perfection. Whenever you are in doubt, simply be a bear. From us at IYEG, we hope you have a sweet year. Feel free to share your goals with us–we are your sleuth (name for a group of bears…I am done with the bears metaphor…for now). 🐻