Survival Instinct

Our most basic instinct is survival.

Our subconscious is constantly scanning our environment with a focus on survival:

• "Am I safe?"
• "Am I at risk?"
• "Am I in danger of being attacked?"
• "Is this situation threatening to me - physically, mentally, emotionally, socially and/or financially?"

Sources Of Power

Sources of power we have to ‘protect’ ourselves include;

• physical, verbal, mental, emotional and spiritual powers.

Specifically;

• money, knowledge, connections, position, status, age, health, strength, beauty, sexuality, beliefs, attitudes, talents, intelligence, experience, skills, wisdom.

Comparison

When we perceive a threat, we instinctively assess the power we have that’s relevant to the situation in comparison to our perception of the power possessed by the ‘threat’. On that basis we choose what we think is our best option to ‘protect’ ourselves and survive;

• Freeze, fight, or flee?
• Hope they don’t see us, attack or withdraw?
• Blend in, advance or retreat?

Hierarchy

In everyday interactions we use this concept of comparison to rank people into a hierarchy or ‘pecking order’ that reflects how much ‘power’ we think people have relative to others, at that time, in that situation.

The result is people constantly comparing themselves to others, judging and evaluating who’s stronger/smarter/better/more important/more powerful...and therefore most likely to get what they want.

Domination & Submission

This assessment of power and place in a hierarchy leads people to take positions of domination and submission in relation to others.

In the Competition Culture, people;

• Dominate people they perceive as having less power, and
• Submit to people they perceive as having more power.

Competition Culture

In a given context;

• When people think they have enough power to ‘go after’ what they want’ and are willing to get it at the expense of others, they generally feel ‘safe’ to dominate to get what they want - using power plays.

• When people feel threatened by a situation thinking they don’t have enough power to ‘go after’ what they want, (or they have, but they’re not willing to get it at the expense of others!), they take a position of submission: choosing to ‘give up’ what they want, and ‘give in’ to others and what they want - using compliance capers.

The result;

• Those with more power, and who are willing to get what they want at the expense of others, get more of what they want, and enjoy privileges and advantages at the expense of others.

• Those with less power, and who are willing to give up what they want in favor of others, get less of what they want, and are deprived and disadvantaged in favor of others.

This is the dynamic of a Competition Culture - where people use (abuse!) power as a destructive force, making comparisons and ‘competing’ to get what they want;

• forcing what they want when they have the power to get it, and
• relinquishing what they want when they don’t.

It’s a dynamic of domination and submission, exploiting and being exploited.

eek!

Next... Competition - ON & OFF the field >>

Back to... Article List >>