India - as most of you should know - is home to many deadly snakes, particularly the King Cobra. This holds true even way back when India was a British colony.
 | People were starting to get concerned with the number of deaths caused by this venomous creature. |
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The British government then came up with a quick-fix solution.
| They implemented a bounty system where an individual can be paid a sum of money for every dead cobra turned in to the authorities. |  |
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As soon as the reward system was implemented, more and more dead cobras are being brought to the government daily. It seemed to work!
 | One day, as some of the authorities were strolling around, they discovered something strange. The number of cobras seem to be increasing in number - rather than decreasing! |
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What went wrong?
Even though people really did try to catch the cobras at first, entrepreneurs eventually found a way to cheat the system. People started to farm their own cobras, kill them, and turned them in for money. When the government discovered such activities, they panicked - and immediately removed the reward system.
The entrepreneurs realized that there was no need to hold on to their "farmed" cobras so they let them free. Thus, the number of wild cobras further increased, worsening the situation.
"Cobra Effect"
The Cobra Effect refers to a phenomenon where the solution WORSENS the very situation it is trying to solve.
Analyzing the behavior of the authorities, it seems that decisions were made made in a hurry. Short-term solutions really look good at face value, but in the long term, it could potentially make the problem even worse.
When faced with a problem, always look for the root cause. If (for some reason) you want to halt a tree from bearing fruit, you don't just chop off the branches; you go for the roots! It might seem tedious, but it will be worth it in the long run.
Application
In the event that you and your SO (significant other) are in an argument, it could be tempting to just shout at the other person to get your point across. It takes guts to drop your ego, apologize, and talk about what's really bothering you.
Another example is that some people look to the lottery as quick-fix solution to their financial problems. The slim chances of winning is one thing, but when they DO win the jackpot, a whopping 70% of them go bankrupt and even end up with less money than they have before they win the jackpot. Again, the situation got worse!
Instead, invest in your own financial education, work on your craft, and reap the benefits of your hard work. Try to analyze what is wrong with your spending habits. Seek for the essence of the problem. Slow and steady wins the race.
I hope this article helped you develop a habit of taking a step back and look for the root cause when faced with a problem. Let me know if this picture format of story-telling is confusing, or if it helped you understand the lesson better.
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Source: "Damn it, Cobra Again?" by The U.S. Ambassador's Youth Council
PS: This week is my HUSTLE WEEK
I also wanted to share that I have set really ambitious goals for myself this week. One of them is to create well-researched, high-quality posts once every workday (Monday-Friday) of this week. I realized that haven't been posting as often as I wanted to. I included this in my post so you guys can hold me accountable :) Wish me luck!