Synergy

For years I thought synergy was just a cool word that was some strange combination of super-energy, or something similar. But only recently have I discovered it is actually a real word, and have since seen it appear in many things. Synergy, as defined by Dictionary.com, is “The interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects.” As a member of the Murray High Swim Team, which is considered a strictly individual sport, I have been a direct witness to synergy. For years I have wasted hours of time stretching, visualizing, pumping myself up, or “getting in the zone” as I would call it, before my events. I would put the rest of the world outside me, and do the best I possibly could. And I did. Though I put one hundred percent of my effort into my event, I was failing to utilize my team’s effort and support like I should have.

The principle of “give and take” does not apply when talking about synergy. The give comes from love, not from selfishness of expecting something in return. If people approach any form of team or partnership with “give and take” in mind, they will only get out what they put in. Nothing more. They will constantly be balancing out what they give with what they get in an imaginary scale in their mind. Doing this will block out any possibilities of both parties getting more than they put in. Synergy is a mathematical explosion, if you will. I have now started busying myself cheering for team mates, giving personal motivation boosts, or comforting those who didn’t do as well as they planned. By doing this, I have found I am more prepared, more relaxed, and feel better in my races because I know I have a grateful team behind me pushing for me every length of the way.

I had the terrible opportunity to take the ACT test this Saturday. And right there, in the reading section, was the perfect example of synergy. It was a technique used by the Native Americans known as “The Three Sisters”. The Natives would plant maize in a circle around a small mound of dirt. When the maize grew about 6 inches tall, they would alternate planting squash or beans between each stalk of maize. As each plant grew, they created an ecosystem perfect for the others progress. The maize stalks provided a structure for the beans of climb, the beans provide nitrogen to the soil that the other plants utilize, and the squash spread across the ground to monopolize sunlight and keep the weeds down, as well as its prickly hairs repelling pests. This is the perfect example of synergy in an agricultural sense. The three plants, when working together, grow better than any one of them could by themselves.

Isn’t this a wonderfully ideal concept? How much more efficient could man-kind be if we could all work together in unity. Perhaps this is the reason the church stresses unity so strongly. D&C 38:27 says “be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.” That sounds slightly harsh. But there have been groups that have risen against the church, creating disunity, and destroying the ecosystem of synergy the church operates in. The conflict of Proposition 8 in California is a good example of this. Members are taking personal opinion over Prophetic counsel. They are not one with the church.

Synergy has a very broad application. It can apply to marriages, quorums, presidencies, school classes, companionships, or friendships. The church has always understood the importance of unity; therefore they have always understood synergy. You cannot have one without the other. I feel as though I have over elaborated on such a simple topic, because it all boils down to selflessness. As we give in love, we receive more. Giving in expectation of getting something in return is not a terrible concept; it is how most things in the world work. But it is not synergy. We hear it all the time, the more we serve, the more we get. And I truly believe that.