A beautiful transformation

What you need to know:

When they have outgrown their current skin, a hormone called ecdysone is released, instructing the larva molt, the larva stops feeding, hangs upside down from a twig or leaf, and then either spins itself a silky cocoon or molts into a shiny chrysalis.

How often has some life coach told you that this is the right time to burst through your cocoon and become a beautiful butterfly? Really? A butterfly? Do these people know how much pain the butterfly goes through during metamorphosis? Are they even aware that it is not an overnight transformation but rather what would pass for years?
Usually the statement comes at the end of reading a 100 page compilation of the coach’s wisdom. They believe in those 100 pages you have been able to find the tools you need to change your life forever.
I used to favour this statement too until a scientist friend set me straight. The butterfly’s metamorphosis begins with a hungry caterpillar who has just hatched from an egg. Soon enough, the little larva stuffs itself with leaves, growing little by little.

When they have outgrown their current skin, a hormone called ecdysone is released, instructing the larva molt, the larva stops feeding, hangs upside down from a twig or leaf, and then either spins itself a silky cocoon or molts into a shiny chrysalis.
You see, once the larva reaches its final moult and begins its metamorphosis, strange things happen to its body. Cells in the larva’s muscles, gut and salivary glands are digested and act as spare parts for the soon-to-be butterfly. Each cell is programmed to self-destruct through the activation of enzymes called caspases.

Once a caterpillar has disintegrated all of its tissues except for the imaginal discs, those discs use the protein-rich soup surrounding them to fuel the rapid cell division required to form the wings, antennae, legs, eyes, genitals and all the other features of an adult butterfly or moth.
Maya Angelou famously said, “We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” There is nothing wrong with who you are right now. Just like the butterfly, your life is a process. Read the self help books and attend as many seminars as you like. But they will not help much unless the time is right.