Survival of the Fittest: Fact vs. Fallacy

Survival of the Fittest wasn’t even a thing until the 5th edition of Darwin’s On the Origins of Species.

Why is that?  What spurred the creation of this phrase?  What repercussions emerged as a result of this?

These important questions are explored in this podcast.  This episode is important because ‘survival of the fittest’ is a deeply embedded belief that has created an extensive belief system around itself.  We become convinced, despite it being false, that human behavior and survival requires competition. 

The truth of Darwin’s work is that the ability to adapt to survive as a species requires cooperation and love.  This was NOT taught in school.  It’s time we knew the truth and started stripping our minds (and psyche's) of this falsehood.  I share a couple powerful exercises you can use to begin doing this potent work that will heal and transform your mind and your life-- so you and I and all of us can do better than just survive--we can go on and thrive!

I see each of us thriving as individuals, families, communities, nations, and as a world. That becomes possible when we seek the truth of human nature.  It’s time we seek cooperation over competition.  THAT change begins within us, within each of us, within me and within you.  I’m honored to be on the journey alongside you!

Join Made To Thrive — a free 3-part masterclass series with Dr. Tami Berry. Discover the science and soul of thriving — and remember what it feels like to truly live in flow. 

You were never meant to simply survive. You were made to thrive.

Let's stay connected!
Follow me on IG: @tamiberry.md
Follow me on LinkedIn: @tamiberry.md

Transcript

0:26

Good morning. I guess I shouldn't even be saying good morning. I'm recording this in the morning, which isn't always very common, but it might have to start being common. I'm not sure things are gonna change here pretty soon. There's an amazing little boy coming into this world. Cannot wait to meet this little guy. Not the theme of my podcast today. I wanted to talk about survival of the fittest because it is what we could call a domino belief. A domino belief is one that once you knock it out, once you destabilize it or eliminate it, it tends to take out something like, Uh, you know, tens, hundreds of beliefs that are predicated or based upon it. So when you take out a domino belief, you do massive mindset work, right? It can be a little destabilizing because it rearranges The mind, the psyche in really profound ways. So I want you to take this episode with a little grain of salt and recognize that this might be something that you wanna listen to more than once. Because the beliefs that were challenging the, because the belief system around survival of the fittest has been something that most of us have lived with the majority of our lives. So we're talking multiple decades here of belief systems being built upon one another on this one. So when we destabilize, when we poke holes and we find that this belief system is actually false, that there's a myth here, it can be, like I said earlier, destabilizing. And so sometimes when we are doing this deep belief belief system work, when we're really engaged in profound and potent mindset work, which is my favorite kind, we want to prepare ourselves for what the. Sequelae is, which is if we're going to be destabilized, we know we need to up our game on self-care. We need to come to ourselves with a lot of compassion. We're gonna need a little extra kindness. We're gonna need a little extra self friendship partnership, and that it might also require a few extra high quality calories. Because as the brain is reorganizing itself, that is actually a very energy rich process, right? So we might find ourselves craving, um, really nourishing, nurturing foods, and I want to encourage you to see this as a good sign and to give it to yourself. Okay? So that's a domino belief. Another way of looking at survival of the fittest, I think is looking at it as a core belief because it is so fundamental to how so many of us have been raised it, it infiltrates not just how we think, it infiltrates how we relate to ourselves and other people. It infiltrates how we relate to our work and the world. It affects. How we live, how we show up, how we interact, how we react, how we act, or how we don't act. And so something that is that pervasive, that has this big of an influence on us can be considered a core belief. I like to think of core beliefs. If you think of a pyramid and you invert it, So the narrow point is down, and the broader base is actually at the top right. It's an inverted pyramid. When you are able to dismantle or disrupt a core belief, you're taking out the few beliefs that are at the bottom that all of these other beliefs are based on. And then they all get to crumble together. Right. And you get to kind of see this happen in real time. I, I believe that ever since I've been doing this work ever since I realized that there was great fallacy in I was gonna say the modern understanding of survival of the fittest, but I hope we're establishing the modern understanding of survival of the fittest right now in this conversation. And that we're gonna see that this former understanding of survival of the fittest was manipulative and, simply false based on the. The self-interest of, certain parties that have certainly gained big time, in the last several decades, you know, because of this or hundreds of years. And so let's talk a little bit about survival of the fittest. It really was not until the fifth edition of Darwin's work on the origins of species that we see the language survival of the fittest. And it's interesting because this was inserted because of Darwin's relationship with an economist with a capitalist. And it was at the time, this is like mid, like mid to late 18 hundreds. Darwin is like, his funds have dried up. He doesn't wanna stop exploring, he doesn't wanna stop his expeditions, and he is desperate for funding. And this. Economist is aware of the fact that Darwin needs money. And he explains to him, if you'll come with me to the Queen of England, and you'll explain to her how survival of the fittest relates to how a species can adapt and evolve, and you helped me tie that into capitalism that. If we allow free forces, if we allow competition, that we will be the species that can adapt and evolve the fastest. So Darwin sort of plays along because he wants the money. Right. And at this point, his thesis, I mean, he's, he's written extensively about how a species survives. Initially, this is actually what's fascinating. He does discuss that initially there are some species of animals and insects that are competitive and that, those that hit a nexus point that hit, hit this pinnacle of limited resources. Those that then adapt to a cooperative rather than competitive nature were most fit to survive. This is fascinating that a species, once it hits a point where there are limited resources, it. Self adapted, right? We're not talking humans here. We're talking insects. We're talking like we're talking what are considered lower. Okay? I'm putting this in air quotes. What are considered lower species in terms of cognitive function? This ability to adapt and evolve, right? Supposedly we're like the top of the top with this whole prefrontal cortex thing that we've got going on. But, but he was able to document and show that when these, when, when some of these species were met with an environment that presented limited resources, that those that cooperated, those that developed care for one another, those that even demonstrated love or a sense of unity, oneness. Right. They established common goals, which was survival. They cooperated and that species would survive, a species that stayed competitive in an environment of limited resources perished. This reminds me of where humanity is today. We are at a place of limited resources and it is our invitation to evolve and adapt and grow beyond competition. So back to this story, cause I think it's really fascinating, this idea of survival of the fittest and competition. After, Darwin had gone with, with Phineas, I can't remember his last name off the top of my head right now, it's a pregnant brain. But he had gone with him and after he agreed to make this bold assertion, capitalism became, Larger than life in a way, and it spread, right? This is at a time that England was rooted, still in the domain of, explore, conquer, and claim territory. And capitalism became a way of sort of, I think, legitimizing this trend that we were gonna go and spread capitalism. We were gonna spread this idea that commerce based on competition was going to be the name of the game and. Even today, it is just so pervasive. I think we have this idea about humanity that's rooted in competition and to see if it's true for you. I just wanna invite you to, I, I just think this is such an important conversation because at what point do you, oh, oh by the way, uh, It ends with Darwin getting all of the funding that he wants, and he gets to do all of his expeditions and live happily ever after. Just, you know, so this did work out for him to a certain extent. But for us, right, the repercussions, right? Like we're still sort of, I think, dusting ourselves off or picking ourselves up from like the repercussions of this. At what point do we think human nature is competitive versus cooperative? And are we willing to shift our mindset? Are we willing to get serious about looking where a competitive mindset is stronger than a cooperative one? I really think this is important. I really think this is important work because when we're based on competition, there is an inherent hierarchy that we're classifying people, we're looking at people we're categorizing, we're classifying, we're ranking, and we're filing. And this is part of what the. Brain does, particularly when it's stressed, it is searching to make sense of the world as a way to create a sense of safety and security, even though it so often actually does the opposite. Where we think that we rank and file, sometimes we rank and file in a way where we feel safe and secure, and more often than not, we're ranking and filing in a way where we feel like not quite good enough. Right. And this is all just like ego drama and truly coming from a very unevolved part of our thought process. And so I started doing this experiment. I was like, I'm gonna watch myself, I'm gonna witness my thoughts as I meet people on the street. As I go about my daily life, as I visit with the gardener, as I right, as I, as I go about my life, I wanna see how is it that I perceive other people? And I was blown away at how unconscious, how rooted in the subconscious this hierarchy was taking place. And we can't see it until we're invited to look at it, which is why I wanted us to have this conversation. I think we don't find inner peace, inner calm equanimity until we eradicate this compulsion. For hierarchy and competition, and I think we're living in a time where we're being asked to do that and we can. And now when I see somebody, when I'm interacting with somebody, it's, there's just so much less bullshit involved because there's no hierarchy game going on. I see us all as equal. I see us all as aspects of the divine. I see us all as, These magnificent creators of our own life experience, I see us as powerful. I see us as influential. I see us as each one of us just doing the best we can with what we've got. And my interest now is in optimizing my capacity, my ability to be self-directed, to create the life that I want to. Understand the laws of this universe and how it's all a feedback mechanism so that I get to play the game smarter, not harder. Right? And so, there is a no hierarchy. I recognize now how we're all an aspect of source. We're all like little gods. Running around not realizing we're Gods not realizing we are the creators of our own experience. We outsource this left and right. And I think one of the greatest ways that we are actually disempowered, that we outsource our power to create in our lives is by believing the fallacy of what's most commonly understood is survival of the fittest. And so my invitation is if we were to embrace cooperation, if we were to embrace love, interestingly enough, in his work on the origins of species, when we compare the frequency of use of the words competition to cooperation and even love cooperation and love. As a behavior, as a feature of behavior are named 30 times more frequently than the word competition. This tells us something that, a species that cooperates, a species that embraces love as a fundamental mental energy of existence. Survives is the fittest to survive thrives. So good. I want this message spread far and wide, so I'm just doing my little part. And you're doing your little part by listening and anybody you share this episode with, you're doing your part because we want to dismantle this. So many of the other beliefs that we have about humans, humanity and the way that we interact with one another. And this world. Imagine if we were able to strip competition from our minds and we replaced it with cooperation. Truly all successful entrepreneurs have this moment where they recognize that their success is gonna be based on cooperation and collaboration and partnership. This is another reason why I truly see the entrepreneurial journey as a spiritual one, because I think the more we embrace spiritual truths, the more successful we are in life. You don't have to be an entrepreneur to benefit from spiritual wisdom is a pathway for success. You really don't. Um, but I just see it play out so much more clearly, and as I've done this mindset shift work, it has radically changed the way that I think, the way that I feel, it has settled my nervous system in a way that has, has truly been remarkable. And now that I understand the importance of our nervous system and how it shapes our emotions, how it clouds our thoughts or clarifies them. I have become very interested in the domino beliefs or the core beliefs That I get to dismantle, that I get to actively disrupt that lead to nervous system balance, right? That helped me create a parasympathetic state where I feel safe, I feel secure, I feel grounded, I feel centered, I feel, rooted I get to feel confident. I get to feel. Grace, a certain wisdom, a certain trust emerges a certain trust, emerges with myself and all of life. And, I want you to have a taste of that too. And so my invitation to you is to play with this. where can you, where can you bring this into your day? Cuz you're gonna have to intentionally do this to get results. The idea of competition, the idea that we've gotta fight for our survival and we've gotta fight one another for it, or that we prove that we're the fittest for survival when we accumulate the most amount of stuff, right? This is not sustainable. Our planet cannot sustain the massive consumerism that is taking place. We need a massive mindset shift. We need to know our worth isn't predicated on what we own. We need to know our value isn't predicated on what we produce or what we consume. We've, we have to be so anchored in the divinity of who we are as extensions of source, that none of that stuff matters when it comes to worth. I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with consumption, right? We need things, especially if you're a parent and you have little ones. Holy, these little ones need a lot of things, right? This is just, this is just way it's, and. We can consume consciously. I'm not an anti-capitalist. I just believe in conscious capitalism. I believe in a capitalistic model that's rooted in cooperation, collaboration, partnership, sustainability. This is why I'm so passionate about wellbeing because until we're rooted in some of these things in our bodies, in our psyches, united with our spirit, right, we're united with our heart space, we get to make that manifest in our lives and, and as a byproduct in our families, in our communities, and truly, we hit a tipping point, right? Once there's enough of us that. Are on board with this, we get to shift the consciousness of our region, of our country, of our world. I know it's a big task. I'm just asking you to start with you. I'm just asking myself to keep up the work. I'm asking us to do the inner work. Because when we do that, we do change this world. We, we become foci. That radiates out. That's like, that shifts everything. But more than anything, I'm interested in us creating a state of wellbeing, us creating a state of sustainability, us creating environments internally and around us where we get to thrive. And as we embrace cooperation, collaboration, and partnership, this is where we evolve, where we grow, and where we truly get to co-create this life. And when we're in that space, when I see this happen in my own life and I see this happen in my clients' lives, I am so lit up. I am so lit up and I am lit up right now knowing that by you just listening to this, that you're gonna get a taste of this in your own life. And I am thrilled for you, my friend, because this is a level of transformation and liberation like none other, celebrating you, celebrating us, and I'm celebrating what's possible when we're all. Doing this work together. Thank you so much for being on the journey with me. I'll catch you in another episode of Dr. Tammy Talks sometime soon. All right, my friend. Take care. Bye.