From the health of the planet to the state of our minds, this is the start of exploring why humans behave as we do. You know, the 'why' questions that my daughter would ask (See BtC#3). Why don't we seem capable of changing our behavior even when it is clear that self-preservation requires it? Why do we choose instead to almost willfully ignore the striking information coming from experts in the field?
I recently heard someone say that we are at the height of human existence, but the rest of the planet is at a low point. The evidence for the first part of this assertion might be debatable, but clearly the supra-organism that is the earth's biosphere and atmosphere is struggling because of the depth and breadth of the impacts of our extraction-consumption-pollution driven civilization and its socio-economic circuits.
Let me be clear on what I am referring to with the word "circuits". These are the events and behaviours of human civilization, the people therein and the consequences thereof, that are repeated time and again, otherwise known as patterns of behavior. Another common term for this is "system" (and its various sub-systems), which Donella Meadows (referenced in BtC#2), defines as "an interconnected set of elements that is coherently organized in a way that achieves something." I'm always struck by word choice and reader bias. Achieves here is meant in a neutral frame, such as 'consequence', positive or negative, that a system would, by its structure, result in.
Broad examples of our social systems include our economic system, transportation system, educational system, trade system, capital market system and political system, as well as the nation that comprises them. Smaller systems would include communities, organizations, teams, families and even two people in a relationship. But systems don't have to be social in nature. More naturally, there are ecological systems, aquifer systems, but also your body systems such as you as an organism and the other systems therein. These include your cardiovascular system, respiratory system, circulatory system, skeletal and muscular systems, your immune and endocrine systems and the list goes on and on, all the way down to the cells within each of those systems, which are also systems. Each system has connected parts that are organized in a way to 'achieve' something. As shown in the image to the left, the respiratory system is organized to achieve the exchange of oxygen (inhale) for carbon dioxide (exhale).
A side note: these natural systems I've introduced existed long before the advent of today's modern social systems. But all systems, whether social or natural, operate according to certain laws, which I will cover in a post on systems thinking in the future. Please make sure you're subscribed to the website and the blog so that you can be updated on new postings!
The modern social circuits or systems, including ones I've mentioned and the vast trove I have not, are present in every one of our lives. They heavily influence how we think about life, ourselves and everyone in it. They impact what we are willing to sacrifice for, to spend our lives trying to achieve, and they rule us by our subconscious programming.
They influence what we understand of reality and what is possible in the world. As an example, can you imagine the possibility of any other economic and financial system in our lives than the one that currently rules our existence? Likely not, but recognized that this economic system has emerged in the relative last moments of our existence.
“It’s easier to imagine the end of the world
than the end of capitalism.”
– Fredric Jameson, Slavoj Zizek
In my life, these circuits influenced what I thought was possible in society and what I ultimately chose to focus on for a career, initially in accounting working for the big consulting practices of Arthur Andersen and PricewaterhouseCoopers in the US and Europe, helping big companies and the firm’s partners earn big money for the promise of big money in my life. Everything was about achieving the biggest and bestest. I applied and was accepted to a top law school in the US, where I focused on international law, interning with the US Mission to the WTO in Geneva, in law firms in London and Seoul, and studying at Hong Kong University. Even with all of these amazing experiences, I wasn’t sure why I was going to law school. I didn’t feel like it was truly in my heart to be there, but I'd been receiving the message since I was young that achieving the lawyer status was meaningful in itself, that it was a path to happiness in some emotional form, even if only because you are admired or respected. The financial security also played a part.
This is what these circuits do – they appeal to the parts of our brain that respond to rewards and threats, influencing our behavior, creating norms that we feel must adhere to in order to be safe, to ‘belong’ or even to be admired. They infiltrate our families and are fed to us from our earliest moments of life. They are reinforced in our social groups, our schooling, our extracurricular activities. It's in what we read, hear and watch. Achieve all you can. Make others proud by attaining material and financial wealth. Be "successful".
This matters to us because our brains are social organs – communicating, relating, organizing, collaborating. Without the claws, teeth, wings, strength or speed to evade predators or capture prey, these skills are how we survived as a species, how we evolved to adapt to and survive in a shifting environment over the many millennia. While
With the advancements of medicine and scientific research over the past few decades, including functional MRI machines, there has been an increased focus on understanding how human, and non-human, brains work. And human brains have responded with interest and curiosity. The novelty hasn’t escaped consulting practices looking for operational and marketing opportunities.
In my work with the NeuroLeadership Institute, a talent management consulting practice, we used the “SCARF model”, developed by David Rock, which categorizes social threats and rewards into dimensions of Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness and Fairness (SCARF), which I briefly introduced in BtC#2. While these social factors may not at first glance seem like a threat or reward, within our brains they drive the same neurochemical responses, including the production of dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, adrenaline and cortisol. I don’t portend to be a neuroscientist, but it has been fascinating to learn more about how minor social cues can greatly impact our behavior and our lives, explaining so much about human behaviour.
This model also helped me to better understand my own drivers and fears. But what might be a social reward or threat for one person, may not be so for another. As an example, Status and Certainty influenced my choices and behavior as I started my career.
I remember sitting in that posh office building named “Princess Building”, embedded in the Hong Kong central skyline from 2004 to 2005. A new legal associate for a British “Magic Circle” firm. I had achieved the status and some level of certainty in my career. But very quickly, I began to question the value of what I was doing not just for the world but for myself. Absolutely, I was getting paid well – and after three years of hard work in law school and the acquisition of $160,000 of related debt, there was something to be said about reaping some financial return on that investment, but something inside of me had shifted over the prior year.
Flashback to 18 months earlier, when I was interning for the US mission to the WTO, in Geneva, running marathons with colleagues – first Rome and two-weeks later, Paris. After the internship, I cycled from Geneva to London (a magical journey in itself), where I was to intern for the same law firm I would work for in Hong Kong. During that summer, a transformation occurred, propelling me into the world of Ironman triathlon.
And triathlete I did – starting with Olympic distances in the UK that summer, then a half-Ironman in the US when I returned a few months later, training through multiple marathons and teaching spin class during the winter snows. The result was the Brazil Ironman in late May, 2004, three weeks after law school graduation.
Something about the Ironman training and competing – pushing myself and recognizing that there was no finessing to the finish line. That truth lay in the sacrifice of 30-hour training weeks, the physical pain of pushing beyond supposed limits, and disciplined recovery and proper nutrition. Effort resulted in results.
There was something primal and powerful about it. It felt like pure freedom and an acknowledgement that I could do anything I put my mind, body and soul to. At some point along the way, it shifted from being an interest, to a hobby, to a passion, to an identity. I continued competing in ultra-endurance trail races and Ironman triathlon, culminating in the 2008 Kona Ironman WorldChampionship. I'm often asked what drove me to such lengths, pun slightly intended. Some might think status is a key factor for such competitors, but in my experience one has to dig deep to complete a 250km desert race where there is no one out there to cheer you on. Just you, the sun and the sand. Perhaps I was connecting with something deeper inside of me, something long lost to the modern way of living. In terms of SCARF, perhaps it was delivering rewards of autonomy, relatedness (with myself and other competitors) and fairness.
Paradoxically, in a career working for the big firms, autonomy and fairness were de-emphaized as a matter of culture. If you ever saw Tom Cruise’s film, The Firm, you’ll recognize these sentiments. These firms believe they own you – because people are indeed driven by the status of working in such a firm, of being a lawyer, with the remuneration to afford material luxuries and conveniences. But the sacrifice of freedom, autonomy, and self-identity was simply too much for me. The 18-hour days, lack of exercise and culture of drinking was anathema to the active, healthy and balanced life I’d developed, valued and identified with. I could see the toll it was taking on others within the practice. Their physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health were clearly being affected by the culture of the practice and the practice of law more generally.
Months after I left the firm, one of the two partners passed away from a heart-attack in his office, he was in his mid-40’s at the time. A few years later at a wedding in Bali, I ran into one of the British lawyers who was still with the firm – he looked horribly unhealthy. I asked him how his life was. He shrugged his shoulders, shook his head and quipped, "At least I have a Maserati."
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