Red Queen Theory
I am not sure how familiar you guys are with the kids book Alice in Wonderland. I am not so familiar with it myself but you don’t need to be in order to grasp the theory, so here it goes anyway.
The story is that there was a witch who was bent on making Alice’s life miserable as in all children’s fairytales.
The theory is based on a situation where Alice fell down a well and found herself in a tunnel. Once Alice realized she was in this tunnel she tried to get out. A tunnel only has two entrances/exits with no turns so that was a no brainer for Alice.
As Alice began to walk in an attempt to leave the tunnel she noticed that even after a while she was at the same spot with no progress. Alice was a clever girl and therefore tried a new approach by running. It seems the harder she ran the more she found herself at the same spot.
For those who are interested in the story; the Red Queen used magic to ensure the tunnel walls travel at the same speed as Alice but in opposite directions, hence Alice found herself at the same spot all the time.
Now for the theory part: substitute ourselves as Alice and the tunnel walls as life/the world/ progress etc.
Now deviating a bit from the story, everything around us is constantly changing whether we like it or not. There are opportunities passing us, people getting promotions, people getting ill and passing on etc etc. So essentially, you have to change as well. You cannot be the same person with the same strategies and hope to achieve the same results because the environment you are in is changing all the time and this is out of your control. Calm down, there is still hope. The part you can control is yourself.
A few points to help you take control of your life:
Be aware of your surroundings and the environment at all times.
Gain knowledge. Knowledge is power.
Think out of the box – let me explain this one; it means to think differently to the norm. It means not to just follow instructions but to question everything thrown at you in life and I mean everything.
Continuous development of one self.
Keep fit. You never know when you will have to run and be faster than the next guy.
Change – don’t be resistant to change, welcome it. Also the rate of change is important. You can’t be changing at a slower rate than the tunnel walls.
A few stress relievers:
Start some cooking classes if you want to do things differently. You will be surprised at how much cooking can relax you.
Exercise at least twice a week for a duration of no less than 30 minutes per session.
Laugh as much as you can without holding back.
Read a good novel and you will be amazed at how easily you can escape your own life and live in your novel.
Eat healthily and no less than three times a day and remember that breakfast is your most important meal for the day!
Stay away from gossip but when a friend needs a shoulder try and be that shoulder without getting emotionally involved.
Live every day like there will be no tomorrow.
