What Darwin Really Said

Most of us have heard the term, "survival of the fittest". If you were asked to provide another word for "fittest", what would you choose? Most people choose "strongest". If they were told that was incorrect and to try again, most people would probably choose "smartest" or "most intelligent". If you thought "survival of the fittest" meant survival of the strongest or the most intelligent, you're not alone, but you would be wrong.

When asked who first used the term, they would probably say, "Charles Darwin". Actually, it was first used by Herbert Spencer, an English philosopher, who tried to sum up Darwin's theories in a simple manner. Darwin accepted that as a reasonable effort, but he defined "fittest" differently then most of us do today. He wasn't thinking of the gym.

So what did Charles Darwin actually mean? Here are his own words.

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change."

Here's one key to help you unlock that trap you're stuck in. When your environment has changed, it can be a waste of effort to try and force it to adapt to you. You may be better off adapting to fit it. But suppose you really don't like your environment. What do you do?

Next - How Einstein Can Help Us