"The difficulties we encounter are frequently the result of self-sabotage, and managing them often requires wrestling with our own drives, doing our best not to give in to every impulse. This is easier said than done, of course. To lose weight and keep it off, to successfully climb out of debt, to find meaningful work, to maintain long-term, happy relationships: all demand postponing our immediate desires in the service of a longer-term goal."
"How much does this really matter? Isn't a hallmark of being human our species' ability to adapt to changing circumstances? Yes and no. Yes, we have a remarkable ability to deal with new problems, collaborate to find solutions, and create technology to help us realise them. At the same time, anthropologists estimate that human genetics and anatomy have remained largely unchanged for about 100,000 years."
Many everyday problems stem from instinctive impulses that conflict with long-term objectives, causing self-sabotage and requiring delayed gratification. Weight loss, debt reduction, career changes, and sustaining relationships demand postponing immediate desires to achieve future benefits. Evolutionary mismatch explains this tension: human brains, bodies, and instincts evolved in hunter-gatherer environments and remain poorly adapted to modern urban and technological contexts. Genetic and anatomical traits have stayed largely unchanged for roughly 100,000 years, while agriculture emerged 10,000 years ago and civilizations about 5,000 years ago. Biological evolution operates far slower than cultural and technological change, producing maladapted impulses in contemporary environments.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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