Why Knowing Your Mindset Will Change Your Future.
Only one generation ago, our grandparents did not know what the internet is or what a smartphone can do. They chaired the planet with “just” 2 billion other human beings, unable to imagine that in their own lifetime this number would triple, with people living in megacities of 35+ million inhabitants.
The world has changed greatly in the last 50 years. And in a scope that has never happened before. We humans stick around roughly for 200'000 years (only a blink of the eye for our planet). Since then, we have undertaken a tremendous evolutionary path. The success that we are 8 billion humans on the planet today, living longer, healthier, and wealthier (at least in monetary terms) life’s, is mostly based on the development of just one tiny thing: our mind. The very fact that you can right now think about your thinking, is an evolutionary wonder accessible only to humans. But it has not always been like that. We took several developmental stages before we arrived where we are today. And each new developmental stage was accompanied by a complete new mindset. For definition purposes: A mindset describes the ways of thinking, belief and behavioral patterns. In other words, our inner attitude of us. A great number of scholars — psychologists, philosophers, and anthropologists, among others — have deconstructed the journey of the human mind. Still remember Abraham Maslow from your studies? He famously looked at how human needs evolve along the human journey, from basic physiological needs to self-actualization. Others looked at development through the lenses of worldviews (Gebser), cognitive capacities (Piaget), values (Graves), spirituality (Fowler), or leadership (Torbert). Most scholars found more or less six mayor successive stages, each with complete new ways of collaborating, thinking, and behavior and with big consequences for e.g. society (going from family to tribes to nation states) and the economy (from hunter/ gathers to agriculture to industrialization). Our mindset determines how we live, parent and lead. Understanding the mind, liberates us from dysfunctional habits and enables us to make choices about how we want to be. What’s your mindset?
Level 1: Infrared mindset
This is the earliest developmental stage of humanity that lasted roughly until 50’000 years ago. Humans lived in small bands of families. Our capacity to handle complexity and relationships was very limited at this stage. We didn’t have the ability yet to perceive ourselves as entirely distinct from others or from the environment. We were still talking to animals and fauna (oh dear). The division of labor did not exist yet; there is no elder or chief that provides leadership. It was Woodstock 1.0.
Level 2: Magenta mindset
Around 15’000 years ago a new mindset emerged. The first cognitive thought pattern emerged, but the cause and effect of what we perceived was still poorly understood. And so the universe was full of spirits. To have a sense of control, tribes found comfort in ritualistic behaviors. Due to our limited cognition, we still lived mostly in the present (just as my yoga teacher wants it to be), with some understanding of the past and little projection toward the future. Task differentiation remains limited, although elders had special status and authority.
Level 3: Red mindset
Around 10,000 years ago, we started to have a full sense of the self (hooray!). Now the world is seen as a dangerous place for the self (damn it!), where needs being met depended on being strong. Our emotions is still rather shallow and mostly expressed through violence. While we became aware of the self, other people’s feelings are not perceived yet. We start to understand simple causal relationships such as rewards and punishments. Our thinking is shaped by extremes. One thing is either one or the other, black or white. There is nothing in between. But now being able to differentiate ourself from others, labor devision becomes possible. There can now be a chief and followers. With that, the first forms of organizations become possible. They work based on the continuous exercise of power as only fear and submission keeps the tribe together. This kind of mindset can still be perceived today in criminal structures.
Level 4: Blue mindset
Now we enter the age of empires (6’000 years ago)! A decisive shift for humankind. We finally have a good grasp of cause and effect, and our understanding of time is advanced (past, present, future). We can think (a bit) more long term, which means: Hello agriculture! We can finally plan ahead and therefore secure our food supply. We can now produce more food than we need just for ourself, allowing to feed a class of kings, warriors and priests. And finally, we get other people’s feelings (even thought my girlfriend would say otherwise). And this is really big news! I can now distinguish between my perspective and yours. Unfortunately, I can now also imagine how others view me. Its a pity, because my self-worth is now a product of other people’s opinions. The rise of Instagram has its roots in Mesopotamia (who would have thought that!). Now life becomes a struggle for approval. That’s why we start internalizing group norms. And with this, it is now not anymore about you and me (like in Red) but rather about us versus them. Either you show the right group behavior („there is only one god!“) or you will burn in hell. Because we can’t burn people anymore today, burning is replaced with guilt and shaming.
In a nut shell: The great leap from Red to Blue caused insecurity. To feel safe in a new world of causality, time and other people’s opinions, we seeks for order, stability, and predictability. We seeks to create control through institutions (e.g. the church or the military), strictly defined roles and rules. According to developmental psychologists, a large share of today’s adult population in developed societies is at this level.
Level 5: Orange mindset
Welcome to modern times! The age of Coca-Cola and Wallstreet is emerging. We start being able to investigate the world and understand it’s natural laws. The world is not made by god after all, there is no absolute right and wrong anymore. Effectiveness replaces morals as a yardstick for decision-making: the better I understand the way the world operates, the better my decision and the more I can achieve. The motto for capitalism to blossom is sown: more is better! With our new superpower to question the world, we can start thinking for ourselves and not what the group dictates us to. And with this, science & innovation emerges, bringing us prosperity no one was even able to imagine just 100 years ago. Today, Orange is arguably the dominant mindset of most leaders in business and politics and the foundation of capitalism. While it became good practice to bash capitalism, the progress that the capitalistic mindset brought humankind is undeniable. It’s not just the obvious material prosperity that we enjoy every day (imaging a life without a fridge, heating, or Netflix). Orange has moved us away from the idea that authority is right. We have become capable of stepping out of the condition we were born in and are able of breaking free from the thoughts and behaviors that our gender and our social class would have imposed upon us in earlier times (Blue!).
However, every mindset comes with light and shadows. And with Orange, corporate greed, political corruption, social inequality, mental health destruction, and the exploitation of the planet followed. Orange brought us the greatest progress wave in humankind and at the same time problems of incomparable scale.
Level 6: Green mindset
Orange was necessary before the next stage could have been enabled: Green. This worldview emerged as an answer to orange’s simplistic idea that life satisfaction is measured in money and the brand of your car. The shadow of Orange is the fuel that drives Green. Green people have a strong moral compass. They are the fighters for equality, harmony and peace. They hold up the Charter of Human Rights as the bible of the 21st century. In the words of Ken Wilber, Green wants not what is right for me or my tribe, or my mythology, or my religion, but what is fair and right and just for all humans, regardless of race, sex, caste or creed. What a change in mindset! Greenies place equality & fairness above everything else. They brought us empowerment & purpose.
While there are many lights in Green, there are shadows. Green want that every voice is heard and treated equally. Thus, there is always a conflict with leadership and making decisions, resulting in weak compromises, frustration or inaction. Many green minds flee into academia, NGOs, or social work, where they can at least live their idealism in theory while blaming the world for being evil. Green’s tolerance is often exploited by people with a Red (they are weak), Blue (they are disorganized), and Orange (they are idealists) mindsets. Green can be powerful breaking down the old order, but they often fail designed a new one.
What’s the next level?
Two points of caution at this point: First, the above is a simplification of reality. It is the theory that derived from the evidence observed. Reality is much more complex, where one person doesn’t have just one color, but a mix of all of them. Second, even if the different mindsets are presented in developmental stages, that does not mean higher stage is better than a lower one. As Nick Petrie put it:
There is nothing inherently better about being at a higher level of development, just as an adolescent is not “better” than a toddler. However, the fact remains that an adolescent is able to do more, because he or she can think in more sophisticated ways than a toddler. Any level of development is okay; the question is whether that level of development is a good fit for the task at hand.
For example, the environmental problems caused by Orange will not be solved with an Orange mindset. Or as Albert Einstein once said:
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
As you have noticed, our evolutionary journey seems to be accelerating. Today, we can find in a single city people of every mindset-color. Increasing awareness for our own colorful minds as well as the minds of others, will deepen our connection to others and life itself.
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Gregor Braun is a Sustainability Consultant and Scientist in Switzerland. He works closely with firms to develop actionable sustainability strategies and change programs. Gregor writes about change, innovation & sustainability regularly on Medium and his website gregorbraun.org.
