Going in Circles –/or/– Let’s Jump Off the Rim of the Flowerpot.

I’m sure you’ve seen a caterpillar eat. But have you ever seen a procession of caterpillars looking for food?

Processionary caterpillars have a unique way of finding food: they move through the forest in a long procession, with each caterpillar’s head fitted snugly against the behind of the caterpillar in front of it, like wagons on a train.

Fellow Toastmasters, dignitaries, and guests, today I am going to tell you a story about a French naturalist and an experiment he conducted. I’m also going to use that story to inspire you to change your behavior and live up to your potential.

It was in 1915 that the French naturalist Jean-Henri Fabre conducted a series of experiments with processionary caterpillars. Fabre enticed a group of these caterpillars onto the rim of a flowerpot, where he connected the first one with the last one, forming a circle—a procession with no beginning and no end around the rim of the pot.

He placed food close to the flowerpot, expecting the caterpillars to realize that the food was just a little detour away and break the ring to go get it.

One of the reasons processionary caterpillars look for food in this fashion is that it saves them a lot of time and energy: the leader of the procession sets the course, and the rest just follow. No energy, no time wasted.

Fabre did not know there was another reason for this behavior; there was a much more powerful force at work!

It was the force of habit that made the caterpillars continue moving around the rim of the pot, round and round. And even though the food was visible nearby, the caterpillars continued their never-ending march for seven days and nights, until they collapsed from exhaustion and starvation!

They followed habit, custom, tradition, precedent, and past experience. They confused activity with accomplishment. They were in constant motion, but they made no progress.

Fellow Toastmasters, how long have you been a member of this organization?

In that time, you have probably met other, more accomplished Toastmasters whom you wanted to emulate—to be like them, to speak like them.

You sought their advice, you studied their deliveries, and you followed them.

And you learned from them and became a better speaker.

It makes sense. By doing what they did and following their advice, we saved precious time, energy, and resources.

But… what would have happened if you had chosen to blaze your own trail?

Nobody knows the answer to that question. But I can make an educated guess.

I guess it probably would have taken about the same amount of time to develop the same skills. But the journey—the road—would have been much more enjoyable!

We would have gone through the forest, not with our heads snugly fitted against the more advanced speakers’ behinds, but looking at what was in front of us: the trees, the sky, the grass, and the other Toastmasters going through a similar journey.

Following habit, custom, tradition, precedent, and past experience can make us believe that we are accomplishing something when, in reality, we are just moving in circles like these caterpillars, making no progress.

How many speeches have we given with no goal in mind, just because we had to give them?

Today, I want to ask you to do something.

It’s a small action that has the potential to reinvigorate your Toastmasters journey.

I want you to look up and away.

Break away from habit, custom, tradition, precedent, and past experience.

I want you to find the limits of your comfort zone, break your procession, and do something scary, something new, something you feel you can’t do.

Because it is when we stretch ourselves that we grow.

And it is when we keep our heads fitted snugly against the behind of the speaker in front of us that we walk in circles, making no progress until, exhausted, we finally quit learning.

Even though you think you can’t, you have all the tools and support you need to do it.

I want to see you at the next meeting with a sparkle in your eye, a knowing smile, full of excitement, because you are about to jump off the rim of the pot and try to grab that precious food for the soul lying just there, outside your comfort zone.

I want you to do that because, even though you think you can’t, you can!

Talk to your mentor, talk to your friends, talk to other Toastmasters, and find what keeps you going in circles.

Then, jump off the rim of your flowerpot!