Human Capacity: Watch Out for the WASPS

What influences our ability to think clearly, make sound decisions, adapt to change, solve problems, build healthy relationships, and move toward the future we want?

In this episode of One Degree to Victory, Dr. NM Hollis introduces the foundation of the Human Capacity Framework by exploring the hidden influence of WASPS—Worry, Anxiety, Stress, Procrastination, and Stagnation.

Using Charles Darwin's famous encounter with a venomous snake behind protective glass, you'll discover why knowing the truth doesn't always change how we respond. More importantly, you'll learn why lasting change isn't about eliminating fear—it's about regaining access to the capacity you already possess.

This episode introduces a new way of thinking about change, showing how the meanings we assign to our experiences influence our movement through life and offering a practical reflection to help you begin observing your own response patterns.

If you've ever wondered why you know what to do but struggle to do it, this episode will help you understand why—and where lasting change begins.

This week's One Degree Reflection:

• What happened?

• What story did I immediately begin telling myself?

• What is true about this situation right now?

...and Constant Listener, lasting change doesn't begin with having all the answers.

It begins by learning to see differently.

Share this with a friend who’s been feeling stuck and leave a review with the question you want us to tackle next.

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One Degree to Victory is the podcast of the NM Hollis Institute, where we explore the science and practice of building human capacity. Through practical frameworks, meaningful reflection, and real-life stories, each episode helps you think more clearly, respond more intentionally, and move forward one degree at a time. 

Until next time, Constant Listener, I love ya'll. 💙
 

Transcript

Truth Does Not Control Response

SPEAKER_00 0:29

Knowing something doesn't always change how we respond. We can know what's true and still respond as though it isn't.

Darwin, The Snake, And The Glass

SPEAKER_00 0:39

Charles Darwin was fascinated by the relationship between reason and response. He wondered whether our conscious mind could override an instinctive reaction if we knew there was no real danger. He went to the London Zoo, pressed his face against a sheet of plate glass, the only thing standing between him and one of the most venomous snakes in the world. He resolved that if the snake struck, he would not flinch, and I quote, but as soon as the blow was struck, my resolution went for nothing, and I jumped a yard or two backward with astonishing rapidity. Later, he wrote that his will and his reason were powerless against his response. Truth and response. Truth, there was a venomous snake. Venomous snakes are dangerous. Truth, the glass changed the reality of the situation, which reduced the danger of being bitten by this venomous snake to zero. But Darwin's response didn't reflect the truth of his circumstances. It reflected the meaning he had already assigned to what a striking, venomous snake represents. How often do we do the same thing? How often do we respond not to what is actually true in this moment, but to what this moment has come to mean to us? What fascinates me about Darwin's story isn't that he jumped, it's that the meaning he assigned to the moment overpowered

How Meaning Shrinks Human Capacity

SPEAKER_00 2:14

what he knew to be true. The glass between himself and Snake made him safe. And when that happens in life, maybe not with snakes, but with conversations, opportunities, relationships, interviews, doctors' appointments, finances, and change itself, we walk into situations carrying meanings we've collected over a lifetime. Sometimes those meanings serve us well. Sometimes they cause us to respond to today's situation with yesterday's conclusions. And it doesn't just influence one decision, it begins influencing our capacity. Human capacity is our ability to think clearly, make sound decisions, adapt to change, build healthy relationships, solve problems, recover from setbacks, and move toward the future you want. Every one of us has that capacity. The question is, what's influencing it? When we repeatedly assign meanings that tell us we're unsafe, incapable, unwanted, or destined to fail, those meanings don't stay in our thoughts. They begin influencing our capacity. We hesitate when we could move, we withdraw when we could connect, we avoid when we could engage, we settle when we could grow.

The Wasps: Worry And Stress Effects

SPEAKER_00 3:42

This is where wasps become important. Worry, anxiety, stress, procrastination, and stagnation don't just affect your mood, they begin reducing your available capacity. They consume attention, narrow perspective, drain energy, distort beliefs, and ultimately influence how you move through life. Constant listener, the greatest threat isn't the experience itself. The greatest threat is when the meaning we assign to the experience begins reducing our capacity to live, lead, love, learn, and move forward. One of the things I've learned is that life is constantly changing. We gain knowledge, we develop new skills, we build relationships, we recover from disappointments, we mature, we heal, we discover strengths we didn't know we had. Sometimes we simply have more information today than we had yesterday. In other words, we are not the same person we were a year ago, five years ago, or even yesterday. And even though our lives continue to change, constant listener, it's true that our responses don't always change with them. Like Darwin, we can know something has changed, the glass protects me from the snake, without our response system immediately trusting that change. Every time we respond to today's circumstances with yesterday's meaning, we limit our capacity. That's where the glass comes in. For Darwin, the glass represented protection. For our purposes, the glass represents everything our response systems fail to consider in the moment. It represents the new information, the strengths we've developed, the wisdom we've gained, the resources we've acquired, the relationships we've built, and the changed circumstances that exist today. Yet when worry, anxiety, stress, procrastination, and stagnation begin buzzing in our minds, our attention is drawn to the threat instead of the environment. We react before we reassess. We respond before we recognize what has changed. Wasps don't simply influence how we feel, they influence our access to the very capacity we need to think clearly, adapt wisely, solve problems, build healthy relationships, and move forward intentionally.

Regain Capacity With Better Questions

SPEAKER_00 6:18

So the question isn't how do I get rid of the wasps? The better question is, how do I regain access to my available capacity, even while the wasps are buzzing? Then we assess, what's true about this situation? What strengths do I have today that I didn't have before? What resources are available to me now? Who can help me? What do I know today that I didn't know yesterday? These questions don't eliminate the wasps. Instead, they redirect our attention. Instead of becoming consumed by the threat, we become aware of the environment. Instead of reacting from yesterday's meaning, we begin responding to today's reality. That's where our capacity begins to return. We think a little more clearly, we see a little more broadly, we remember what we've learned, we recognize the strengths we've developed, we notice the people walking beside us, we begin making decisions that reflect who we are becoming instead of who we once had to be. Constant listener, before you respond, look again. Something may have changed, and perhaps the most important thing that has changed is you.

A Three Question Reassessment Practice

SPEAKER_00 7:33

This week, don't spend your energy trying to silence every wasp that begins buzzing in your mind. This week, I want you to become an observer of your own responses. Don't try to fix them, don't judge them, simply notice them. Then give them a simple framework. When you notice yourself becoming worried, when you notice stress beginning to build, when you find yourself procrastinating, pause for just a moment and write down three things. What happened? What story did I immediately begin telling myself? The meaning. What is true about this situation right now? The reassessment. That's it. Three questions. No pressure, no perfect answers, just observation. And Sister Girl, as you write, be patient with yourself. You may notice some things that surprise you. You may uncover patterns you don't like. You may even feel a little uncomfortable. That's okay. In fact, that's a good thing. Awareness is the beginning of capacity, and that's how lasting change begins. One observation,

Patience, Awareness, And Closing

SPEAKER_00 8:42

pause, response. One degree at a time. Thanks for listening. Until next time, I love the body.