Stress, depression and anxiety have been a major problem in the modern world. Suicide rates continue to climb without much promise of decline. Most of us can agree that there is something wrong.
Maybe understanding our history might help. I’m not talking about our immediate history, but evolutionary history.
Wait!!! Don’t leave yet! I know that word is pretty taboo lately, but please hear me out. Maybe, just maybe we can achieve a better way of living by learning about tribes.
Millions Of Years Of Tribal Living
Humans have lived in tribes for a very long time. Around 2 million years humans descended from the trees and lived on the open lands in Africa. We would live in smaller groups, usually 150 people or smaller.
In contrast, our modern way of living is pretty recent in the history of the universe. We only started living in larger groups 10,000 to 12,000 years ago with the birth of agriculture. This is a fraction of time compared to our tribal living.
For those 2 million years tribal living was fundamental to our way of life, but these past 12,000 years we’ve forgotten that way of living.
Tribe Economies
It’s weird to think of hunter gatherer tribes as having an economy, but in his book My Ishmael Daniel Quinn compares our traditional concept of an economy to tribes.
At the core of our current economies is production. In order to get food, one must produce. Without production, one cannot get basic necessities like food and shelter. One must be “productive.”
Tribes have a different core concept to their economy: human energy. This human energy is through unconditional support for all people in the tribe. Making sure that all people in your tribe receives all that they need makes sure the tribes survives.
Wealth in our economy is capital. But tribal wealth is something else entirely: security from death. To achieve this, there are 2 fundamental laws.
Tribal Laws
Here are the two main laws regarding tribes:
- Each member will give their all for the tribe
- The tribe will take care of all members
Every member must help the tribe. If the tribe fails, that means DEATH. If the member is kicked out of the tribe, that means DEATH. One must contribute to the success of the tribe!
On the flip side: it’s in the best interest of the tribe to take care of every member. In My Ismael: “The rest of the tribe won’t turn its back on you as you struggle with this problem. They know that a problem shared widely becomes almost no problem at all—and they know very well that each of them will someday need similar help with one problem or another”. Every member is needed for the tribe to survive.
Humans evolved into these rules due to necessity. These rules are fundamental for a tribe. Give your all to the tribe and the tribe will take care of you. With this security, all tribes people live without fear. No anxiety, no stress, no depression. Just security.
Give your all to the tribe and the tribe will take care of you.
Here’s the modern problem: these laws are inherited within us and we apply them unknowingly. We apply these tribal laws to many parts of our modern way of living and it’s causing our stress and anxiety.
Company Tribes No More
We naturally are constantly seeking membership into a tribe. We are constantly looking for tribal security. Companies used to provide a tribal experience: work hard for us and we will provide for you until you die with a salary and a pension.
Expulsion from a tribe means DEATH, and we have either been excluded from a tribe or never been in one.
Those days, unfortunately are gone. Companies, for the most part, no longer provide pensions. The average length of employment is around 4 to 6 years. More and more employers are looking to hire contractors instead of full time employment to save money due to high health insurance costs. Companies are no longer acting like tribe leaders.
Tribal Conscious.
Expulsion from a tribe means DEATH, and we have either been excluded from a tribe or never been in one.
After having something go wrong at work, have you ever over reacted? Ever thought “their gonna fire me” when logically that would never happen? It’s happened to me a few times over my career.
When something goes wrong, employees instinctually fear being excluded from their tribe. Expulsion means DEATH and we all fear DEATH. However, if tribal members feel taken care of, they will give their best effort. Tribal members have to give their best or the tribe will fail, which means DEATH. This, I believe, is core to our psychology of motivation.
3rd Level Of Motivation
Daniel Pinks great book “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us” talks about different types of motivation.
- Motivation of necessity (hunger, shelter)
- Sticks and Carrots (Rewards and punishment)
- Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose
The last level of motivation is key for motivating creative types such as software engineers. However, this last level of motivation doesn’t work unless the employee is using it to further secure the tribe (purpose). When they are given autonomy and a chance to master their craft, they are given an opportunity/purpose to secure the future of the tribe. This is instinctual. Autonomy and mastery within a void will only cause stress and anxiety since it will soon be clear that their purpose will NOT help the tribe. Freedom without purpose is not freedom, but can become a detriment to happiness, because you are no longer helping the tribe, yourself or anyone for that matter.
The Future
People in tribes lived in security without fear and anxiety. No, we don’t need to go back to living as hunter gatherers, but we can start living in tribes again. Let’s use this knowledge to change how our companies, families, and churches behave. Warning: we must be careful with the power of tribal thinking.
Living as tribes can be bad if we’re not careful. In My Ishmael, Daniel Quinn points out that “there is no operational difference between a tribe and a cult.” People die for cults…that’s the power of tribal thinking. A nefarious tribal leader can lead the tribe to ruin; people can mistake the tribe for the leader. Just look at our current political environment.
But if we can harness these laws, people can be motivated well beyond their potential. As Ishmael says in My Ishmael: “People have died for [tribal support]. People will die for that—not because they’re crazy but because this is something that actually means something to them.”
Overview
Humans have lived in tribes for million of years to survive. Because of this there are 2 tribals laws that have been ingrained in us: the tribe will take care of its members, and the members will give their all for the tribe. Our modern workplace used to accommodate these laws, but in recent years businesses have been moving further and further away from them, thus explaining the degradation of motivation and the increase in stress and anxiety in our culture.
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