Some people can do anything – and it doesn’t even seem to take any effort. How do these people do that? Quite simply: like gliding ducks.
Have you ever seen a duck glide on the water? A truly wonderful sight. It seems to go its own way, drifting gracefully through rocking waves, defying wind and currents unfazed. It looks so easy and effortless that many a person watching this spectacle from the shore will wish they were a duck gliding on the water themselves.
But what remains hidden from us on our Sunday walk around the duck pond: the birds are paddling their feet the whole time beneath the surface of the water. Every meter they cover requires the work of their muscles, every resistance, every wave costs them extra strength and effort to keep their balance. In addition, ducks must ensure that their feathers are always well greased so that no water can penetrate – as this could cause the birds to sink. Ducks use their beaks to repeatedly rub their feathers with an oily secretion from their preen gland, a gland at the top of the base of their tail. Sometimes they spend several hours doing this in one day.
A duck’s gliding may seem enviably easy and effortless to us, but in reality the duck does constant kicking and feather care. And the same goes for people who we think glide through life effortlessly.
What people have in common with gliding ducks
Scientists at the American University of Stanford have coined the term “Floating Duck Syndrome” to describe the stress that it means for many people to function flawlessly to excellently in all areas of their lives and always appear fresh, rested and in a good mood . Whether it’s the working mother who talks about how valuable the change from her job is to her and what a gift she sees her baby as – but fails to mention that she feels like a stone in the morning when the alarm goes off and nothing wants more than to have a day to yourself. Or the successful self-employed person who of course loves being her own boss and fulfilling herself – while no one hears from her that she works seven days a week and took her last vacation three years ago.
If someone is successful and juggles an incredible number of tasks, most people are amazed, perhaps envious or applaud with admiration. However, when they learn that this involves a battle that is often fought very close to the edge of desperation, many lower their eyes in distress and cross their arms uncomfortably. For this reason, we tend to remain silent about our struggles, hiding them like kicking duck feet beneath the surface of the water. But what is the price for this spectacle? How much does the façade of ease cost for the illusion of complete success? To put it bluntly: There could be more than we previously thought.
Consequences of “Floating Duck Syndrome”
In one Article Two researchers from the University of Pennsylvania (“The floating duck syndrome: biased social learning leads to effort-reward imbalances”) explain to what extent the “floating duck syndrome” can lead to a disproportionate amount of life and energy being invested in areas and activities to invest, from which we get little of what we need for a happy and healthy life – for example love, a sense of meaning, human closeness. Because people in our society pretend to each other that it is easy to be successful at work while also caring for relatives and children, everyone expects themselves to always deliver and perform, and to do so they give more than they actually could wanted to. In return, they forego hobbies, friendships and relaxation. In one sentence: The “Floating Duck Syndrome” increases the pressure to succeed and perform and conveys a misjudgment and perception of the effort that has to be made to achieve this.
In addition, the “Floating Duck Syndrome” can increase fear of failure and feelings of failure: If I can’t do what others – in my perception – find easy, even with effort, then what kind of absolute failure must I be? What a pathetic, unable to swim duck?
As the psychologist Mark Travers explains in a Forbes article, the “Floating Duck Syndrome” promotes a social culture of isolation, of struggling alone and not asking for help: Because we don’t want to look like incompetent losers, we wear ours Fight secretly and only with ourselves instead of confiding in others and seeking support. As is well known, humanity’s success is based on exactly the opposite strategy: cooperation and cohesion.
Conclusion
The “Floating Duck Syndrome” certainly has more than just disadvantages for our society and its individuals. Like ducks, we as humans are adapted to many of the challenges of our environment and are equipped to make the way we live in it look easy and elegant. But unlike ducks, we as humans adapt our environment to a large extent to suit our abilities, limitations and needs. We pass laws, agree on minimum wages, pay taxes for child benefit and social benefits. That’s why it’s important that we are honest with each other and discuss which requirements exceed our abilities and limits.
It is important to pay more attention to one aspect in particular: the fact that some ducks in our pond have to paddle considerably more or less than others due to long-standing structures. White men occupy calmer, more comfortable waters than white women. Black people constantly have to swim against violent whirlpools and eddies. If we talk about our struggles, allow ourselves and others to deal with them more openly, we can find ways together to make the pond more inviting and peaceful for everyone. We don’t have to stick our paddling duck feet in front of every creature walking along the bank. But we don’t need to hide them from the other ducks in our pond.