The Nest Is Getting Uncomfortable – On Self-Efficacy and Entrepreneurship
The mother eagle teaches her young to fly by making the nest so uncomfortable that they are forced to leave it and entrust themselves to unfamiliar surroundings.
Why would a good mother do such a thing?
So that her youngsters will leave the nest and learn to fly.
Whether eagles actually behave this way is beside the point. But as a metaphor, I like the story very much.
Because today, we often do exactly the opposite.
We cushion the nest.
Especially for our children. We rush forgotten things after them, solve problems before they even appear, and call it care. Helicopter parents are, ultimately, professional nest-cushioners.
And in doing so, we may be depriving people of one of the most important experiences of their lives:
I can do this myself.
Psychologists call it self-efficacy.
And it doesn’t develop because someone tells us how great we are. It develops when something is difficult and we discover: I can handle it anyway.
Perhaps that is why I find entrepreneurship so fascinating.
People who start businesses voluntarily leave behind some pretty comfortable nests. Suddenly, there is no one else to make the decisions. No one guaranteeing that a salary will arrive at the end of the month. Instead, there are customers who say no, bills that still have to be paid, and the occasional morning when you wonder whether any of this was such a good idea after all.
And then something works.
The first contract. The first customer of your own. A problem you had no idea how to solve yesterday is solved today.
I can make a difference.
That may be one of the most valuable experiences a person can have.
And it cannot be given to you.
We can support, advise, encourage and catch people when they fall. But at some point, we have to stop making the nest softer and softer.
That applies to children.
To founders.
To entrepreneurs.
To business successors.
And perhaps even to an entire society.
Because being well provided for is, first of all, a wonderful thing.
But there is a catch: when you have everything you need, there is no need to move.
Perhaps what we need, then, is not ever more comfortable nests.
Perhaps we need to trust our wings again.
A good nest protects.
A nest that is too comfortable can also do harm.
Author of this article:
Katja Peteratzinger, International Graduate in Business Administration (FH), specializing in Marketing; consulting expert on the RKW Hessen Business Consulting Competence Team of RKW Hessen GmbH; entrepreneur and publicist. Innovator of the Regional Value Creator Index. Power woman and Ocean Ambassador for the SEAQUAL Initiative, and the driving force behind the Powerregions Initiative.
All rights reserved. Images: AI-generated.
Contact:
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