Adaptive Landscapes

"I am the chrysalis in which you will face that which terrifies you

and from which you will blossom forth, vibrant and renewed."

-"The Divine Mother" source unknown

 I've been thinking a lot about the processes which bring us to renewal.  For the most part, I have concluded this: the process often is painful, scary, and generally uncomfortable.  So why leave what is familiar (if but a bit mediocre) for the unknown if it means a period of discomfort.  

Evolutionarily (with genes) it isn't really even possible.  Check out the diagram of an adaptive landscape.  The peak in the back is the highest and thus the represents the adaptation with the highest fitness (number of genes one will pass on to the next generation while employing this strategy).  However, just because employing this strategy will maximize an individuals fitness, due to random genetic drift (and other factors) some individuals will end employing the strategy depicted in the front left adaptive peak.  Though, their fitness is lower than individuals employing the strategy of the back most peak, they will not likely evolve (over generations) to the other strategy which would increase their fitness.  This is because to do so would require a period of lessening adaptiveness to the environment.   As decreasing adaptation is not selected for, a new strategy cannot be employed (until a shift in the adaptive environment....).  

We, luckily, differ from genes (though, obviously, our being - body, behavior - is tied to them inextricably).  We have a little bit more foresight and significantly more faith than genes.  We can see that our actions now will not take us where we want to go.  We can see where we want to go. And we can choose to have faith that by digressing we will be able, in the not so far off future, to "blossom forth, vibrant and renewed".