The Anatomy of a Crab: Part 1
Walking through a live seafood market, you will often see crabs placed in shallow buckets with no precaution taken to restrain them. That’s because you don’t need to. Crabs are self-governing, and if one of them tries to escape, the others will instinctively pull that crab back down. It’s a behavior that is counterproductive to their survival, yet they persist. (Read more here: http://bit.ly/2M2X3QN )
Unfortunately, you don’t have to go to a live seafood market to see this kind of behavior. Take inventory of those around you, and while they might not be tugging at your legs, pulling you back down into the bucket, there will be evidence in their language and their behavior that they are attempting to create an environment where people become afraid to “leave the bucket”.
Here are two of the most common signs.
Sign 1: Discrediting the Need for Change
I was sitting in a Panera one recent morning as I watched the staff set up new digital menu kiosks. A table of men nearby started sharing their thoughts on the new kiosks. “Nobody is going to use them,” one man said, while another chimed in “What’s wrong with just walking up to the counter.” The men all shared looks of disgust as they nodded their heads in agreement with what had been said.
This new technology would likely reduce waiting time, ease the stress of long lines, and reduce staff overheads for Panera, a win-win-win for customer, employee and management. But rather than demonstrate a curiosity about change, and be open to the possibilities change might provide, a “Crab” is most comfortable in the bucket they’ve always known.
As I have talked about before, growth doesn’t happen in a closed loop, we need new stimulus and new experiences to challenge us. This can only happen outside of the bucket, a place crabs don’t want us to ever see.
Sign 2: Discrediting Those Trying to Change
Have you ever been made to feel stupid by someone for attempting to try a new approach or make a change in your life. That person was exhibiting classic crab behavior.
The sole mission of the crab is to normalize remaining static. The less other people change, the happier the crab will be.
· Trying to start a diet – the crab will invite you for cake.
· Trying to get promoted – the crab will tell you how stupid people in the position you aspire to are.
· Trying to better a relationship with a loved one – a crab will tell you it’s 100% the other person’s fault.
The crab will not only try to intimidate someone into not changing, the experienced crab, will do it publicly so as to preemptively intimidate others who might be having similar ideas. The crab is a person who celebrates stasis.
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Being surrounded by this crab-like behavior can take tolls on our courage to grow, our relationships and our self-worth. Therefore, it’s important to be able to identify a few tell-tale signs, so you can begin crab mitigation sooner, rather than later.
It’s easy when reading through these signs to picture people in your life that embody them, without being introspective. Truth is though, the behaviors of crabs are fluid. A bad day, a rough night’s sleep, or an emotional argument can cause each of us to embody a bit more crab than we want.
Want to repel Crabs? The first step is to elevate your own ability to recognize when you might be backsliding. Regarding other mitigation tactics, I will go into more depth in “The Anatomy of a Giraffe: Part 1” next week. Until then, be kind, dodge the claws of crabs and champion other’s growth.