Let's imagine that you are a giraffe for a second.
You are a resident of the savanna grasslands of Africa. Your neck is seven feet long (2.1 meters). You occasionally notice a group of people driving around on a safari and taking photos of you.
However, more than simply your neck and their cameras separate you from the rest of humanity. The fact that almost every choice you make improves your life right away may be the largest distinction between you and the people snapping your photo and your giraffe buddies.
You stroll over and chow down on a tree when you're hungry.
You hide in the bushes while a storm sweeps across the plains.
You flee when you see a lion following you and your pals.
The majority of the decisions you make as a giraffe each day, such as what to eat, where to sleep, and when to avoid a predator, have an immediate effect on your life. Your attention is continually on the here and now or the very near future. Your actions instantaneously produce definite, immediate results, which is what scientists refer to as an immediate-return environment.
The Environment of Delayed Return
Let's switch the narrative and imagine that you are one of the people taking a safari holiday. Humans reside in what experts refer to as a Delayed Return Environment, unlike giraffes.
The majority of the decisions you make today won't instantly be to your advantage. You'll receive payment in a few weeks if you perform well at work today. You'll have enough money for retirement if you start saving now. Many features of contemporary culture are built to postpone rewards to a later date.
This also applies to our issues. A giraffe worries about current issues like avoiding lions and finding shelter from a storm, but many of the issues that humans worry about are issues that will arise in the future.
For instance, you might be thinking, "This safari has been a lot of fun," while your Jeep bounces about the savanna. Being a park ranger and seeing giraffes every day seems wonderful. Is it time to switch careers when we're talking about work? Am I actually carrying out the task I was assigned? Do I need to change jobs?"
Unfortunately, people who live in delayed return environments frequently experience stress and worry. Why? Because the challenges of a Delayed Return Environment are beyond the capabilities of your brain.
The Development of Human Brains
The human brain did not develop to survive in a world with delayed returns.
Homo sapiens sapiens, the name given to the earliest human fossils, dates back about 200,000 years. They were the first people to have a brain that resembled ours somewhat. The neocortex, the newest portion of the brain and the area in charge of higher cognitive processes like language, was nearly the same size two hundred thousand years ago as it is today. You are outfitted with the same technology as those who lived in the Paleolithic.
Modern culture is relatively young compared to the age of the brain. Our culture has just recently—roughly within the last 500 years—shifted to a primarily Delayed Return Environment. Compared to prehistoric periods, the rate of change has dramatically risen. The rise of the automobile, the aeroplane, the television, the personal computer, the Internet, and Beyonce can all be attributed to the past century. Your entire daily existence was largely produced in a relatively brief period of time.
In 100 years, a lot can occur. But from the standpoint of evolution, a century is nothing. The modern human brain evolved over millions of years for one type of environment (instant rewards), but in a split second the environment completely altered (delayed returns). Your brain is wired to prioritise quick gains.
Our current level of chronic stress and anxiety is significantly influenced by the mismatch between our old brain and our new environment.
Stress and anxiety were helpful feelings for humans thousands of years ago when they lived in an environment where there was a rapid return to activity.
For instance:
You see a lion across the plain, which makes you anxious. You flee, which makes you feel better.
When a storm is far away, you worry about finding shelter. When you do, your anxiety is reduced.
You feel anxious and dehydrated because you haven't had any water today. Once you discover some water, your stress disappears.
Your brain developed to employ worry, anxiety, and stress in this way. In an environment where a return was imminent, anxiety served as a protective emotion for people. It was designed to address immediate, pressing issues. Chronic stress didn't exist since Immediate Return Environments don't actually have chronic issues.
Chronic stress is uncommon in wild animals. A deer may be scared by a loud noise and run through the forest, but as soon as the threat has passed, the deer immediately calms down and begins grazing, according to Mark Leary, a professor at Duke University. And it doesn't seem to be tangled up like a lot of people do. You only need to be concerned about immediate stressors when you live in an immediate return environment. Anxiety decreases once the threat has passed.
Different issues confront us today. Will I have enough cash next month to cover my expenses? Will I advance at work or will I be stuck where I am now? Will I mend our strained bond? In a Delayed Return Environment, issues are rarely resolved in the here and now.
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