Spirit of the Buffalo
Have you ever had a project at work, a test at school, or really anything looming over you that you just didn’t want to do? Like, you know it’s there, you see your time slipping away, and all you do is think about how much this is gonna suck to have to do. I hate that.
For me right now, it’s eating better and exercising. Why can’t I just eat what I want, how much of it I want, and relax and have a healthy amazing body? Is that too much to ask? I know I need to do it, I think about it all the time, but I just sit there, hating myself, for being overweight and lazy. This post isn’t about exercise, or the health journey that I’m on or you know, getting back on. This is more of the fundamental thought process of coming to terms with doing what we don’t want to do. This just happens to be what I’ve been avoiding. What are you avoiding, that you know you need to just start doing?
Why do we do this? Why do we freeze and do nothing but get anxious for what is coming? It is the natural thing to do for most of us, right? I want to take a look and see just how counter productive this is.
A few weeks ago, Kimberly said in passing, “Did you know that buffalo run into the storm instead of away from the storm? That’s kinda cool, huh? They just want to get it over with. Smart”
I was captivated, I needed more information. To the internet Robin! I started down the rabbit hole. First I wanted to learn more about buffalo in general, so I found an article 15 Facts About Bison (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) It was really interesting, then I looked up specifically what Kimberly had told me and came across this quote by Wilma Mankiller, dope name right? “Cows run away from the storm while the buffalo charges toward it - and gets through it quicker. Whenever I’m confronted with a tough challenge, I do not prolong the torment, I become the buffalo.”
Well, then I just kept thinking about it and thinking about it. There are many books and videos discussing this phenomenon, but I wanted to sort out what I thought about it before I jump into other people’s ideas. The nerd in me came out and I thought, “Should we do the math on it?” Ok this next part is gonna sound like a math word problem, but I promise, you don’t need to do the work. I gotchu!
Did you know that the average storm is 15 miles in diameter and travels an average of 12 mph? Well, let’s say that this storm is heading towards the buffalo, but the buffalo acts like we do. Stands there for a bit, thinks about how much this storm is gonna suck, and just keeps thinking. Anxiety builds. Then after a while dread builds the storm is 10 miles away and the buffalo’s fight or flight kicks in and turns the other way and takes off. Buffalo can run an average of 35mph for up to 5 hours. So, the buffalo books it and just runs away at full speed trying to avoid the inevitable, as we do. Now the buffalo falls out, exhausted, filled with worry, knowing what is coming for it. It then takes the storm 10 hours to catch up. That whole time the buffalo is just getting more and more anxious, building up what this storm is going to be and how much it will hurt. That’s a long 10 hours. Then the storm breaks the horizon, the buffalo sees the clouds looming, darkness spreading, doom is inevitable. Then after 5 hours of running, 10 hours of waiting, there’s an hour and 15 minutes of the storm, as the rain pummels the buffalo, as lightning strikes fear in the buffalo, as the ominous thunder cracks overhead in terror.
Well, that sucks, but that is exactly what we all do isn’t it? We see the stress coming, try to avoid it until we can’t, run like hell away from it, then get so caught up in our own crap that we just have to endure the torture.
Now let’s look and see what the buffalo would really do.
The buffalo sees the storm coming, it’s 10 miles away, and it says, “Aight, let’s do this!” and it takes off running towards the storm. With the storm coming in at 12 mph and the buffalo running towards it at 35 mph it takes roughly 13 minutes until they collide. Now the storm begins, but adrenaline is rushing through the buffalo, so it doesn’t quite hurt as much, plus this is on their terms. The buffalo is causing this to happen, it is not happening to it, it was the buffalo’s choice, huge difference. CRASH! The storm lasts for 19 minutes and then it is gone. The sky clears, the grasses are fresh with water, and there is a storm, no more.
Let’s break it down and compare; we will call the running, stress, the waiting, anxiety, and the storm, pain.
The way we do things:
Stress: 5 hours
Anxiety: 10 hours
Pain: 1 hour 15 minutes
The way of the buffalo:
Stress: 13 minutes
Anxiety: 0
Pain: 19 minutes
What seems like a better idea to you? I say that from here on out we take on the spirit of the buffalo! We say goodbye to procrastination, unneeded worry, too much stress and we tackle these things head on. How much time could we save if we just did what needed to be done, we did not hesitate, and we showed no mercy to the situation. (That last sentence was for you Boog) I can’t count the times that I’ve told myself, “I just don’t have enough time.” Well, that’s bullshit, or I guess, buffalo shit (They’re both BS! Hilarious) in this case, anyways, we can all do better at this. Will it happen overnight?
Of course not.
Oooooooor, why not?
Make the change! Take on the spirit of the buffalo and minimize your stress and pain, while gifting yourself more time to do the things that bring you joy and happiness, like having a discussion about who would win in a fight, Batman, or…
FYI, it doesn’t matter who the “or” is, the answer is always Batman!
