Civilisation is the process by which people learn to develop individually and collectively so that they can go beyond the limits set by nature.

A newborn would instinctively know how to breathe, feed from its mother and digest its own food, because nature has pre-programmed it to do what it takes to survive.

Animals oscillate between being irritated when they are hungry, to being content when their hunger has been sated. You don’t usually find happy animals — happiness is something we humans have learnt to experience over the years. Being happy is a state beyond the set norm of ‘nature’.While being ‘content’ is natural, being ‘happy’ is not a part of nature’s plan. We have to go beyond what nature has in store for us to experience it.

Similarly, we don’t need to learn how to deal with poverty. What we do need to learn, however, is how to deal with wealth. Incompetence comes easily; to excel at something is the difficult part.

To provide bad service to your customers is easy; to provide your customers with excellent service will require that extra effort.

If we don’t let ourselves grow continuously, we will, naturally, decay. To excel, we need to acquire a different, more evolved thought process — one that creates a higher level of D & D—dedication and determination, inspiring us to do better.

To give up is the easy route; to persevere even when your basic needs are fulfilled goes beyond nature.

On Animal Planet you can see how millions of beasts migrate from one part of the African wilderness to another. While on the go, packs of carnivorous animals gather to feast on grazing herbivores.

The lions have to focus on one unsuspecting buffalo and claw it down while the other buffaloes run away. One innocent deer, buffalo or zebra can satisfy an average-sized pack of lions, and once the lions have had their fill, they have no use or desire to kill another animal the same day. Moreover, they know that stale meat is harmful for their system.

Animals have no incentive to work when their stomachs are full. They don’t improvise. The same natural instincts are passed on for generations.Humans had developed the process of cultivation in order to live without having to expose themselves to desperation, hunger, misery and the daily search for food.We have to realise that we can do wonders, become great ourselves and guide others to greatness. This will not come naturally. We need to take our instincts to a higher level.

We can educate ourselves through books, become target-oriented, seek the company of inspiring men and women who have learnt to tame their instincts and push themselves. We can also watch athletes and artists perform — they inspire us to achieve higher levels of the potential that we all possess.

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