Kids say the darndest things right? While the world shouts and screams about adopting the mentality of a lion, why would anyone want to be a Honey Badger? I'm pretty sure I've seen shoes and handbags made of them, so why would anyone adopt their traits? Well, to add more bewilderment, the Honey Badger has gone down in the Guinness Book of Records as the most fearless animal in the world, which makes it one of the most feared animals in the animal kingdom. Even among the most poisonous snakes and bloodthirsty tigers of the wild, the Honey Badger is avoided by most animals, and here why ... [1] [2] [3]
The Honey Badger is an almost perfect fighting machine. Its skin is so thick that it can withstand thousands of simultaneous bee stings, claws of a lion, bites and stings from venomous king cobras and scorpions, and porcupine quills. In addition, the Honey Badgers ears are folded inward. Surprisingly, this does not impact their hearing but eliminates a vulnerability – there is nothing to grab onto. The badger can then use its loose and rubbery skin to flexibly bite its attacker from all angles.
Fearless animals usually have a reputation for not being as bright as other animals, however, the Honey Badger is known for utilising tools such as rocks for cracking open eggs and sticks for poking into termite mounds. Although this shows signs of intelligence, it is nothing compared to its teamwork capability. The Honey Badger has a sweet tooth and gets its satiation from honey. It works with the Honey Bird, as the Honey Bird seeks out beehives and notifies the Honey Badger. The badger then fearless rips open the hive, eats honey and ensures it leaves some for the birds. Fearless, aggressive, and loyal, therefore the perfect teammate. And if there are too many bees that may pose even the slightest threat to the Honey Badger or the birds, it comes fully equipped with stink bombs that can be deployed from the glands of its tail. This results in all surrounding animals fleeing, as the stink is intolerable – even to insects such as bees.
The Honey Badger is by no means only a creature of defence, it can very easily go on the offence. A sign that it is about to charge and attack is its rattling war cry which it roars during its charge. Honey badgers have been known to run towards anyone it deems an enemy, even a lion or crocodile. A key reason why the Honey Badger has survived in the wild and has not become extinct is because of its fearless attitude. Imagine the changes that may come into our lives if we were to embody an attitude of total accountability, fearlessness and creativity.
The Honey Badger has one of the strongest bites in the animal kingdom, and it is known that there is nothing that can open their closed jaws once closed for a bite. As 25% of the diet of a Honey Badger is made up of venomous snakes, it has built up a tolerance. You may think that a bite from a King Cobra or Scorpion would be the end for any animal on earth, but the consequence of a venomous bite or sting is that the Honey Badger simply goes to sleep for a short while. It then wakes up to continue the onslaught and feeding on its prey. A dedicated trooper indeed! The video below shows all of this in action, in a rather humorous way.
Now, all of this sounds great but what does this have to do with us? What are we supposed to do by analysing the characteristics of the Honey Badger? Fair questions both! And this may surprise you, but the Honey Badger operates with many principles discussed in Self-Mastery blogs. Here is how we can implement certain characteristics of the Honey Badger, so we can too be fearless and effective.
How To Be A Honey Badger
Compartmentalise – the Honey Badger isn't worried about what happened yesterday or what may happen in the next 5 minutes. It's solely focused on the current task at hand and taking one step at a time to get the job done. Recall the sand timer analogy from "The Art of Day Compartmentalisation" post – one grain of sand at a time, one step at a time, one task at a time.
Have thick skin by not allowing any worry to get on top of your mental, emotional, physical or spiritual health. Whenever you experience any feelings of discomfort, dissect, analyse and eliminate the worry immediately. It will keep you moving fast and smooth. This is covered by articles from all possible angles in the "Eliminating Worry" section.
Always keep sharpening your skillset so you can utilise tools and methods that keep you moving forward. Never rest on your laurels or stop in the name of fear, perceived defeat or a glass ceiling. This whole website is dedicated to this, whether it be eliminating internal obstacles, acquiring adroit communication skills or building a progress plan, Self-Mastery has you covered and will be alongside you. Remember, "where there’s a will there’s a way".
Never settle! The main reason why the Honey Badger has not become extinct is because of its ruthless attitude to never stop until the job is done. Whether it be gathering food or protecting itself and its family, the job will either be done or the Honey Badger will die in the process. No excuses!
Take the Honey Badger approach of "by any means necessary". The Honey Badger doesn't compete, it sees itself as something strong, highly capable and worthy. Not respecting the generic food chain and going to war with any animal of any size. This is true domination mentality.
"If competition is healthy, domination is immunity." - Grant Cardone
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