Foraging

As you know to forage means to “wander or go in search of provisions.”

Wray Herbert in his book On Second Thought writes that humans have a basic desire to focus in on something and make it their own. He calls this the Foraging Heuristic. 

Herbert states,

“The Foraging Heuristic is what makes us explore, peek around the corner, and learn new things.”

In doing so we generally come across something that catches our interest, and results in us focusing more on that particular thing. This is how we oftentimes choose our hobbies and careers.

What I found interesting about this was the degree to which people forage. Some are searching for variety and novelty, while others are quite content with certainty and predictability. 

I found myself to fall more in the first category. Over time I become restless for that next new thing. It’s for this reason that I don’t think I could have ever honed myself to the level of expert in one area. I would have become bored too easily. 

Herbert proposes that by sticking with the known we might have the luxury of not actually having to make a decision. Decisions can be risky if we make the wrong one. Or at least that’s what we tell ourselves. 

I’m not really overly risk adverse as long as I’m making decisions in my comfort zone. When given the choice between returning to a favorite vacation spot or visiting someplace completely new I’m generally on board for the place I’ve never been. 

Of course, knowing I’ll be traveling with Chuck is my comfort zone. We have travelled so many times together over the years that we know each other’s rhythms, likes and dislikes. 

However I know many people who have a favorite vacation spot that they return to year after year. Just the anticipation of returning brings them joy throughout the year. 

So it appears that we all forage to some degree.