Stop fooling yourself. If something is easy and simple, it is probably a lie or a trap.
Too often we get lazy, and that is when we are at our most vulnerable.
Ever since the dawn of time, mankind has innate subconscious capability to detect threat. This comes back to our genesis where threats came from other animals, or other humans. To combat this, we grouped into tribes. Tribes would have an unwritten law that they would protect each other. The most vulnerable would be protected by the strongest. An individual threat to a tribe was countered by the sheer volume of the tribe. This aspect of human socialization worked to allow the tribe to survive. Quickly we humans learned that leverage from each other was the best way to evolve and grow.
Although the weakest members of the tribe didn't have to deal with conflict from external threat as the strongest would be on guard to protect the tribe, they still were expected to learn to defend themselves. What if the weakest found themselves in the forest foraging for food, when a stray animal comes upon them? Wouldn't it have been prudent for the strong to teach them the art of self defense?
Tribes learned quickly that their strength was the power of their weakest. Since they would be spending much of their time defending the weakest & most vulnerable, they realized that by supporting and strengthening those that are weak so that they could be able to defend themselves, they were strengthening the tribe over all. When tribes engaged with other tribes, the strength of the overall tribe would become a positive property that would either thwart threat from larger groups, or allow them the right to conquer weaker groups.
The reality is that within a tribe, the individual has trust among other tribal members. The concept that someone will "have your back" when adverse events occur is welcomed. But it should never be assumed. This is the key of survival. Ultimately the responsibility of survival comes down to the individual.
The problem in the 21st century is that we live in a world where the law of the jungle and tribal heritage is lost. We have created all the technology to defend ourselves so that we do not have to live on guard all day. We can assume that our daily life is less threatening than it was in the plains. We can assume that at our jobs, we are not going to be slaughtered. We can assume that food and water is in abundance. That wild animals won't attack us on the way to work.
Because of this, the skills of survival that we would have normally developed are dormant. Due to our reliance of modern conveniences, we have lost the threat awareness that would have been subconscious for our primal ancestors.
We make broad assumptions of trust because it is easier than learning the art of self defense.
Just as in the past, threats were physical and more tangible, today threats come in less tangible form. If a tribe had an abundance of food, another tribe may attempt to take it by force. Today if you have an abundance of wealth, you have to defend against that. Sure, there are lone actors that attempt to steal from you. We create defenses for this by using banks with vaults to store our valuable belongings. Maybe you have a safe in your home.
But the reality is that if you live in a country with the rule of law, the incentive for an individual to steal from you is low. Maybe they break the norm and steal because of a drug addiction or some other perception of survival that they have, but for the most part this is not a problem that you are facing every day. Similar to how tribes could rely on the group to defend against individual threat, you have law enforcement to act on your behalf to defend your safety and property rights.
What if the threat, however, came from intangible entities?
What if the threat was from a rogue government, or a financial institution that didn't have your interests at heart? What if the threat was from a large and powerful group that preferred to extract wealth from you, rather than go out and create it from actual labor or invention? Are you in anyway prepared to combat such a threat?
Think of the following as threat models that you better start considering for your own longevity:
These are the HUGE tribal threats that we all face. Yet we are taught to trust these entities.
First understand one important thing. Everyone in the jungle has an agenda. You have one. You probably want to live a peaceful and abundant life, free of health risk and with the capability of raising a family and surrounding yourself with trusted friends. It is a reasonable goal. We can hope that all of us live with such an agenda.
But that isn't the case. Many people are faced with different cultural values and expectations. Many may have physical impairment that doesn't allow them to operate on the same value system. Many are battling poverty and forced to do things that we would never dream of. In a highly connected world these days, we come more and more into contact with those in cultures that we don't necessarily share the same morality with. Some that assume that theft is a normal "cost of doing business" or that lying and cheating is just a skill that needs to be mastered in order to survive.
The more wealthy a culture, the less likely the individuals are well trained in defensive skills that will protect their wealth. Wealth tends to move to the best custodian - the old saying, "A fool and their money never stay together for very long" could better be stated as "An overly trusting person and their money never stay together for very long".
Unlike the days of the tribe, where wealth was measured in food and water abundance, today wealth is measured in currency. Currency that is used as a swap for goods & services we all need. The more currency you have, the more buying power and hence the more wealth. Protecting our currency is a defense we should all do. You wouldn't leave a pile of $100 bills on the ground out in the open, because you know it will be taken. But we leave most of our lives (particularly in the digital world) open to the same level of exposure.
If you want to be free of torment, threat and exposure to adverse events - to be unconstrained - you need to understand that there is a personal responsibility on your part to learn the art of threat awareness and self defense. These are not skills that are taught in school - they are natural and you must awaken the primal beast within to unveil them.
Mastering any skillset requires training and diligence. You have to learn to balance the art of critical thinking and mistrust with maintaining a positive mindset, being able to have meaningful relationships with others, but to be ever alert to recognizing threats. This should become an innate skill that doesn't require any effort on your part. Like a good habit. You should never make assumptions that others have your back - particularly in business. You must, as they say, "Trust and verify", however in the 21st century this might be better put as "Verify, then trust".
You already are. You are reading this article. Beunconstrained is designed to raise awareness to threats we all face, to see opportunities that are out there and overlooked and to question the norms and embrace the art of contrarian thinking. Because if we all want to be lemmings, we will all happily go over the cliff together. My hope is that if you are reading this far into the article, you are not a lemming and realize that you have responsibility to become stronger, and a better and more informed participant in the world. That with knowledge, you will be better prepared to defend against the adversaries that come along - whether big or small.
Your personal freedom is not an assumption. It requires hard and consistent work. If you relax, you will become vulnerable. Vulnerable to organizations far larger and better prepared to take advantage of you. You must be able to recognize the threat and learn to avoid exposure to them.
