Over the previous two weeks, we got to know the Big Five primitive emotions: Craving, Ego, Sloth, Frustration and Worry. These guys are the reason why we find it so difficult to consistently do the things we know are good for us and avoid the things we know are bad for us. 

This week, we’ll introduce some natural predators to the Big Five into our mental ecosystem. I like to call these guys the Great Five. 

So, let me introduce you to:

Inspiration

I firmly believe that humans are inherently creative creatures. Free creative expression is the most direct route to long-term happiness and fulfillment I know. 

It’s also the antidote to the first member of the Big Five: Craving. Whereas Craving is the desire to consume, Inspiration is the desire to create.  

The reason why Craving overruns Inspiration in most people’s lives is that it can deliver instant pleasure with essentially no effort. That’s why Craving and Sloth often travel together. It’s also the reason why binge-watching and binge-eating is such a dangerous combination. 

Inspiration is different. It requires some proactive effort and eventually delivers a uniform and sustained sense of fulfillment instead of an immediate burst of pleasurable endorphins.

This is a challenge. Since creation does not deliver the instant and concentrated pleasure of consumption, we need to train the mind to prioritize Inspiration over Craving. But luckily, this can be done.  

Altruism

The second member of the Big Five, Ego, is the primitive human need to be accepted by the tribe. Altruism, on the other hand, is a strong drive to contribute to the tribe.

Ego is about what you can get. Altruism is about what you can give. It implies that you are motivated more by helping other people than by furthering your own agenda. 

Although being the antithesis of Ego, Altruism is, rather ironically, the best way to accomplish Ego’s goal. It’s obvious that that someone who is always helping the tribe will eventually earn great respect. 

In its most advanced form, Altruism is called Love: that often irrational emotional state where you naturally place the happiness of someone else far above your own.    

For most cases though, Altruism is more than enough. Displacing any ulterior motives in human interaction with a genuine desire to contribute is a win for everyone involved. 

Flow

Sloth is the desire to avoid effort and conserve energy. Flow is the state of mind in which progress becomes effortless. They both avoid effort and strain, but it’s obvious which one is more desirable. 

Sadly, one cannot simply choose to enter a state of Flow. This member of the Great Five will only come into your life if you have cultivated a positive relationship with work. 

The two previous members of the Great Five, Inspiration and Altruism, often accompany Flow. Altruism is a very pure motivation to get started on a creative project. And Inspiration shows itself much more frequently when you have honed your skills and understanding over thousands of hours of creative expression. 

Deploying well-trained skills to a creative project that can truly enhance people’s lives sends out a red carpet invitation to Flow. 

Tolerance

The next member of the Big Five, Frustration, is there to give us the motivation to fix things that are not to our liking. The problem is that today’s complex world presents so many challenges that are either completely outside our control or far too complex for the quick fix that Frustration desires. 

For all these issues, we need Tolerance – the ability to accept the things we cannot change and address the things we can with patience and kindness. 

Tolerance is particularly useful when dealing with people who have viewpoints and beliefs different from your own. Getting frustrated with these people can only make things worse. 

But possibly the most important reason to develop Tolerance is to stop wasting so much mental energy on pent-up Frustration. With Tolerance, this mental energy can be used for much more useful things.  

Excitement

Lastly, we have the antidote to Worry: Excitement. Whereas Worry views the future with fear, Excitement views the future with hope.

In today’s complex world, both Worry and Excitement can be wrong about the future. However, the lessons you can learn from being wrong with Excitement are generally more valuable than those you can learn from being wrong with Worry. 

Excitement is an excellent motivator for positive action. It’s also capable of attracting the productive states of Inspiration and Flow discussed earlier. 

That being said, Excitement with no tempering from Worry can be dangerous. It’s important to strike a good balance. 

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So, there you have it. I hope you already encounter some of these positive emotions on a regular basis. We’ll be spending the rest of the week on ways to meet them more often.

See you tomorrow!