Are we, as humans genetically \’programmed\’ to compete and dominate – or is cooperation and democracy a more natural instinct? And what are the implications for society?
You may find the answer inspiring.
[box type=\”shadow\”]“Willingness to compromise with others ways of living and cooperation in common tasks, these make living happy and fruitful.”
– Sathya Baba[/box]
For as long as we can remember the words success and competition have gone hand in hand. We are descendants from a world in which survival is a battle of the fittest as we have fought for access to limited resources.
How we define success
In the capitalist society we live in today, success is very much defined by the scale and extent of our bank balances and possessions. Someone who owns a mansion in one of the most exclusive suburbs, has a couple of luxury vehicles parked in the garage, and takes expensive overseas holidays once or twice a year, is generally seen to \’have made it\’ in life.
Does success equal greater happiness?
There\’s nothing wrong with nice possessions – but the question is \”Do they make us feel any happier?\”
After all, isn\’t happiness the true prize that we are all chasing in life?
One man\’s quest
Tom Shadyack is a man, who by most peoples standards was a great success. As the award winning American director of a number of top box office hit movies, he was a multi millionaire, living the high life.
When Tom first moved into his exclusive 2000 square metre Beverly Hills mansion with 17 bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, tennis court, swimming pool, every conceivable luxury and four personal managers to help him run his life efficiently and smoothly, he was entitled to believe that he had finally achieved what most of us regard as the pinnacle of success.
But then something unusual happened.
A ground breaking realisation
Some while after the movers had left, Tom stood in the opulent hallway of his new home surveying the product of his so called success, and reached a ground breaking realisation – he felt no better or happier than before.
This set him thinking deeply about what it was that was wrong with the world as he knew it and what would bring him greater happiness and joy.
The turning point
A biking accident was to be a turning point in his life. At one point, as he confronted the possibility of death, he says he was suddenly imbued with a sense of great clarity and purpose.
Tom recovered and went on to do research for his new movie called \”I am\”. That research led him to realise that cooperation and democracy – not competition and domination – are at the very heart of nature\’s systems.
Part of our DNA
Further research showed that cooperation is revered as the very highest value amongst ancient indigenous cultures. It seems it is part of our DNA.
Yet strangely, in our societal model for achieving success and the good life, we place a very high value on the ability to compete, individual strength and the power to dominate others.
A young species
Tom claims this is because we humans, as a relatively young species, are on a learning curve and are still experimenting with models for living that are deeply flawed.
Take what you need and leave the rest
As he says, the fundamental law of nature is to \”admire the abundance of the universe, take what you need and leave the rest for others.\” As soon as we learn to embrace this principle as humans we will all be significantly happier and more fulfilled.
Needless to say, Tom has given away much of the monetary wealth and the many possessions that he accumulated and now lives a comfortable yet modest life. As he says, \”I keep only that which I need. The rest goes to people who need it more than me.\”
And is he happier now.
His answer is a resounding \”Yes\”.
This topic is so interesting – it stimulates much thought and there are so many viewpoints. I do think a lot on this subject – the jury is still out though!
There is only one thing I’m clear about. The pursuit of money alone cannot make you happy if you do not have a positive outlook on life. But no money and the struggle for it does not bring happiness or contentment on any level.
The working towards money as a means of acquiring tools to increase one’s hopes and goals in life is certainly worth striving for.
Just my viewpoint for now.
Tom Shadyack is very inspirational. Saw a bit of this on TV. Can’t wait to see the movie. Does anyone know if / when / where his movie I AM will be showing in South Africa / Pretoria?
I think that what is said above is both right and wrong. It depends on which way one looks at it and how. It depends on circumstances. Stephen Hawkings refers to the Grand Design. I mostly agree with this. The grand design for us animals includes, love and hate, envy and lust, to kill and to submit. We have embodied within us, all the character aspects . We can be anything, within the grand design. One thread is clear: we learn from our errors, after we have made them. We learn and we do. I am not sure that our actions will make us closer to the Creator though. I am still studying various ancient books, and especially the Vedas of India, which is based on Truth.
Another ancient book you can look at is the Bible, the philosophy of Jesus and the New Testament is one of serving, similar to giving, and not the human trait of wanting. I like Tom Shadyack’s statement to take what you need and leave the rest, somehow human nature still has to rise to this level.
Thank you for a most inspiring article. It makes me think of Luciano de Crescenzo: “We are all angels with one wing. We can only fly while embracing each other. “
Great article Bill.
My thoughts: Money does not bring you happiness, but what you can do with money CAN bring you happiness. Don’t go after money, for money sake, but attract money for what you can do with it and be clear on what you will do with it.
I grew up thinking that wanting to be rich was bad, but as I have grown up I realise that it is not bad to want to be rich, but it is bad to want to be rich just to have money…..
Regards
Bev
I once attended a training course and we were asked what we are after in life. What do we want? One of the delegates answered passionately and said “Money! Money rules the world!”.
The course facilitator then responded: “That’s great! What are you going to do with it?” The delegate couldn’t answer the question, even though the facilitator gave them more time and repeated the question. In my mind, and probably many others in the room, one thought came up: “Money doesn’t necessarily bring you happiness.”