The human mind has evolved to think in such a way that it naturally creates psychological suffering. You see back in the Stone Age–200,000 years ago–life was pretty dangerous for our caveman ancestors. So, if a caveman or cave-woman wanted to survive, their minds had to constantly be on the lookout for things that might hurt or harm them.
And if that cave-person's mind wasn't good at predicting, spotting, or avoiding danger. . .
What happened to her? The default setting of the caveman mind was safety first and, we in the modern world have inherited this. Our modern minds are constantly warning us of things that might hurt or harm us.
The caveman mind says, "Watch out! There might be a bear in that cave, you could get eaten! " "Watch out!
That shadow on the horizon might be an enemy from another clan, you could get speared! " Our modern mind then does worrying, predicting the worst, avoiding anything that scares you. Anxiety in all of its different forms.
Back in caveman days, you survive an encounter with a bear or a wolf then it's useful to replay it. It's useful for your mind to go over the events and remember what you did to survive, so that you're better prepared for next time. But in our modern world we go over and over painful memories, dwelling on them, re-living them, even when there's nothing useful to learn, or the lesson has been well and truly learned a long time ago.
In the Stone Age era, as a caveman or cave-woman, you have to fit in with the group. If you are alone, you will soon die. So, your mind compares you to others in the group.
"Am I fitting in? " "Am I contributing enough? " "Am I following the rules?
" "Am I doing anything that might get me thrown out? " Now, in modern life we're always comparing ourselves to others. But the problem is we're no longer in a small group.
Our groups are enormous today and we carry with us devices that constantly feed us images and stories of people all over the planet. This constant comparison ramps up our fear of being judged, or rejected, or not fitting in, and not being good enough. or rejected or not fitting in and not being good enough.
The cave man mind tells you "You need more food, you need more water, better weapons, better shelter. " The cave people who thought this way lived longer and had more offspring. Unfortunately, in the modern world, this manifests as greed, dissatisfaction, craving, wanting.
It's never enough. I need more! More!
More! And if all of that wasn't bad enough these Stone Age thought patterns are intensified by the sheer pace and complexity of modern life. Our frantic existence, rushing from task to task that never-ending to-do list.
So, when your mind starts doing this unhelpful stuff—as all minds do— Remember: it's not defective or abnormal. and it's not deliberately trying to make your life difficult. It's simply doing the job it has evolved to do.
Trying to keep you safe and save you from pain.
