People seldom change their attitudes or behaviors if they have fallen into repetitive lifestyle patterns. Once trapped in such cycles, they tend to repeat the same actions without variation. Similarly, sloth moths have an exclusive relationship of dependence on sloths - they require sloth fur to live on and sloth feces to lay eggs and complete their lifecycle. Many corporate employees also define themselves primarily through their organizations, behaving repetitively to remain the same way due to complete dependence and identity derived from work. Changing established patterns of dependence and repetition can be difficult without introspection on reasons for change.

1. Do people ever change their attitude and the way they do things? It is indeed a big
question. But the simple answer is people seldom change their attitude and the way
they do things if they have fallen into a cyclic life style. Once they have entered into
such self made traps or cycle, they tends to repeat the same without any change.
They never free themselves from such rhythm or practices.
Look at the strange behaviour of sloth moth. The insect has developed an endemic
and inseparable relationship with the animal Sloth. Sloth is an amazingly a slow
animal seen in evergreen forests.
Because of the slow nature of the animal, many species of insects, algae etc., do
colonize in the fur of this deadly slow sloth. One such insect that harbor in the fur of
sloth is ‘sloth moth’.
The interesting aspect of sloth moth is that they exhibit an exclusive and
indispensable preference for sloth. Even to lay their eggs and to complete the life
cycle of these insects from egg, larva, pupa, they require sloth. Because all they
know to depend is sloth.
The sloths are strictly an arboreal (lives on the tree top) animals and they visit the
land/ground once a week for the purpose of defecation. The sloth moths are known
to wait for such occasions to lay their eggs in the fecal matter of the sloth. The eggs
hatch from the fecal matter of the sloth, the larval stage utilizes the fecal matter as
its principle food and then enters into pupa stage. Once they complete the pupa
stage and become a fully developed ‘sloth moth’ look for a sloth to roost, reside and
live. Once again the above life cycle continues.
The sloth moth not only requires sloth fur to live, it needs even the fecal matter of
sloth to rear its next generation. In brief, from birth to death and to produce new
generation, sloth is the ultimate and the only resource the sloth moth depends.
Many people in corporate do behave the same way. They cannot think of anything
else outside of the corporate. Their identity, their satisfaction, their happiness, the
social life and finally the livelihood, they derive exclusively from the organization
they work. Nothing they know beyond their organization. Hence, they do things
rhythmically, repeatedly and cyclically because of the above and also to remain the
same way.
Many people do exhibit such behavioural traits unknowingly. They simply become
the product of their ‘repetition’ and continue to remain as what they are or what
they have been. Once people in corporate have entered into to such phase, it would
be difficult for them to change. It would be like how sloth moth comes out of sloth
only to lay its eggs in the fecal matter of sloth and to ensure its next generation also
continues the same life style, some people in corporate may also show the same

2. level of dependency and repetitive actions to re-establish and re-iterate the above
dependency.
Dependency is not bad, but loosing ones independence, freedom and intelligence to
such dependent factors is not wise. It is in fact very dangerous. Hence one needs to
introspect whether
1. You change to not to change
2. You change because you feel you have to change
The sloth moth represents the first example. It change its habitat from sloth fur to
terrestrial ecosystem for a short while only lay its eggs in the fecal matter of the
sloth so that its next generation also continue to depend on sloth habitat.
Dr S Ranganathan
ClinRise Derma Pvt., Ltd., Chennai
Dream, Desire and Destination – Social Entrepreneur Forum