7 Priceless Life Lessons from Elephants for Your Self-Improvement

What are life lessons from elephants? Elephant, well, you must know, or at least, have heard about this animal. Yes, this animal is known for its big body as well as it has some typical characteristics such as the trunk, ivories, and more. Elephant is found in some tropical and subtropical areas in Asia and Africa. However, I don't find it difficult to adapt after moving to other continents.

Elephants are also one of the biggest animals living today. The height of adult elephants is approximately 3 to 4 meters. Meanwhile, the weight is from 4,000 to 7,000 kilograms. Although Asian elephants tend to be smaller than African ones, their approximate height and weight are not so much different. Asian elephants' heights start from 2 meters and their weights are around 3,000 kilograms.

Interestingly, elephants are not only big and powerful. They have some unique behaviors to inspire all of us. Well, it is not exaggerating since there are indeed many life lessons from elephants you can learn. So, what are those life lessons? Here they are.

No Matter How the Future Will Be, Do the Best for Today

If you notice it, elephants and some other animals focus on what they can do at the moment. They fight for food and live well today no matter how well it happens tomorrow. More than that, when they meet their pals, it seems they really enjoy it. Although as a human, you will never know what they are talking about, they seem to chat about something, joke around, and have fun.

On the other hand, it is a different story if elephants meet their enemies. Although they are big and look unbeatable, there are still some predators for elephants such as tigers or lions. Those predators commonly don't prey on adult elephants as they are too big and quite difficult to defeat. What they look for is the baby elephants that are still smaller, softer, and weaker.

Well, once adult elephants find that there are predators who aim for their babies, they fight for it although their own lives are at stake. Even in some cases, the groups help one elephant to remove the predator. That's why, if you learn about it more, predators of elephants always wait until their prey is caught off guard.

So, what is the lesson to take from this kind of behavior? It is about the elephants who always do the best for today, no matter how the future will be. If there is an interesting moment, they have fun. Meanwhile, if they need to fight for something, they will use all the things they have to win. Sure, if you can do the same thing, your life can be less stressful without losing the future.

Love Others Sincerely

Elephants are also very expressive. Maybe, you have seen some documentary films about animals showing an elephant that is crying. The tears even really come out of their eyes. Well, you probably also wonder if the elephant is crying or not. Are those tears really because they feel sad?

The answer is yes, those elephants you see are crying. You should know that, in general, animals have emotions just like humans. However, they show their emotions differently from one to another. A dog, for example, shows their feelings by barking. If you notice them well, the ways they bark are different when they are happy or sad. This is shown by the difference in intonation.

Meanwhile, the ways elephants show their emotions are quite similar to that of humans. They cry and smile depending on their feelings. So, when you see an elephant crying, it is just the way they express their sadness or even probably they feel moved.

So, why is an elephant sad? Mostly, it is because they lost "someone" they love. It can be their kids, parents, partners, or even just friends. There are even some scenes when a baby elephant is sad, a whole family comes to approach him and caresses the baby using their trunks. Well, it is a sign of sincere love anyway.

It is not exaggerating if the next lesson humans can learn from elephants is how to love each other sincerely. When someone close to you looks sad, it is a chance for you to show your love and concern to them instead of leaving them alone. From the elephant you learn that your caring for others can strengthen them to pass through any problem they have, no matter how hard it is.

Helping Each Other Anytime Anywhere

Another touching behavior seen by elephants is that they love to help each other. Elephants are not only helping their fellow elephants but also other animals and even humans. Sure, it is as long as those animals or humans don't disturb or hunt the elephant.

Of course, the way elephants help each other is different from humans. It is commonly seen when one elephant seems to have a problem, other elephants come approach him or her and try to calm him or her down. The same thing happens when an elephant looks to be wounded or something. Other elephants are looking to offer help to him or her.

The behavior of helping each other is seen also when they are eating. When one elephant finds a place with a bunch of food for them, he or she tries to tell his or her friends about it. Soon, a group of elephants comes closer to eat the food that has been discovered.

In addition, a group of elephants will attack a predator that comes to one of them. Yes, when one elephant seems to be in danger, the others try their best to save him or her. Sure, it often ends with their winning particularly if there is only one predator. This is also a reason why predators of elephants mostly never come when they are in a group. Those predators even tend to avoid them because of the elephants' strong bonds and cooperation.

Strong, Sturdy, and Unbeatable

Strong, sturdy, and Unbeatable, yes, those are characteristics of elephants in general. Actually, it is reasonable why they can have such characteristics. Even their physical appearance can just show it. Their predators, no matter how wild they are, can simply lose with one beat from the elephant if their body is smaller.

But aside from it being about a physical matter, elephants are strong, sturdy, and Unbeatable because of their never-give-up behavior. Again, it is seen from their daily activities when looking for food or facing their enemies or predators. When looking for food, they will never stop until those elephants find food they like. Well, this behavior may not be easily seen when you see them in the zoo. Sure, it is because the food has been provided by the staff anyway.

The behavior of not easily giving up is also seen when they face their predators. If an elephant is fighting with another animal, you can see that the elephant will never stop until one of them has been killed.

That's why in habitats that are set up by humans, every type of animal must be separated from others. Particularly, it is for animals coming from wildlife including elephants. If they are placed in the same area, the potential of fighting and killing each other is bigger. It is not only for preying but also to show which one among them is stronger. Sure, once those wild animals are fighting, it will be very difficult to stop them.

Loyal to Their Partners and Friends

An elephant may fight until the end when another animal tries to attack him or her. However, it is a different story if other animals or humans are nice to them. They can be much nicer than what you have expected before. Sure, there are touching stories of how elephants look very loving toward their caregivers or trainers. As long as you are good to them and show it, there is no chance at all for the elephants to hurt you.

The loyalty of elephants is at most with its fellow elephants. They look at helping each other, providing food for each other, and protecting each other, particularly the weaker ones. No matter what the problem they must pass through, elephants will always be loyal to their friends.

This elephant's cute behavior should inspire all of us. Loyalty is very important not only in relationships but also interests families and circles. As long as people around you treat you well, there is no reason to be bad or betray them. Keep doing good and this is how you can be successful in the end, whether in career or personal stuff.

Be Grateful with Everything Destined to You

Nothing is perfect in this world including the elephant. Behind their strengths and powers, the animal is lacking in something. Yes, their vision is not so good. It seems like elephants see everything in front of them blurred.

This weakness becomes a chance for predators who want to prey on them. Particularly for baby elephants that live without enough protection, other wild animals like tigers and lions can simply use this weakness to approach them and ambush them.

But despite the weakness, there is another strength an elephant has, that not everybody knows. What is it? Elephants have a keen sense of smell. It makes them simply know if a stranger is getting close to them. So, when they cannot see predators well because their vision is not so good, the sense of smell works better for them.

After knowing if there is a stranger, an elephant commonly starts to be more alert. However, they don't start to attack first except finding out that the stranger makes suspicious moves. This is how elephants attempt to protect themselves.

Just like the elephant, humans have their own strengths and weaknesses. Sure, those strengths and weaknesses must be different from one to another. That's why you don't need to be jealous of others for the strengths and goodness they have since you already have your own. At the same time, your strengths should not also make you arrogant and underestimate others.

Being grateful for all the strengths, weaknesses, and everything destined for you is the best thing you can do. Like the elephant, you must optimize your strengths to do the best in your life and don't feel inferior because of your weaknesses.

Be Patient while Knowing When to Move

Not only loving and like to take care of others, but elephants are known also as patient animals. Well, the main factor is probably because of its body. The big body tends to make them slower to move and attack others. However, if you notice their behavior well, it is shown also that elephants tend to not attack other animals or humans immediately except if they really feel disturbed.

Of course, it is another story if the predators have attacked and tried to kill one of them. Mainly if the predator aims at theory babies, the elephant tends to be very angry and without any doubt, it destroys anything around it.

This kind of behavior is also something to learn about by humans. Being patient is very important mainly if achieving success is your goal. In your journey, it is reasonable if you may face many troubles. Those troubles can also come from people around you. Sometimes, when facing such a situation, being patient is the best thing to do.

However, in case some people wrong you without justifiable reason, it doesn't mean you can just be patient and quiet. It is never bad to confront them or, at least, ask them why they do that. In other words, patience must be implemented in the right place. When this is the time for you to move, just move. Don't let others hurt and destroy you, just like what elephants do.

Closing

Well, those are some lessons you can take from animals like elephants. Nature indeed can inspire us with all the miracles it has. So, don't stop learning about them for being a better and wiser person.