Awe is a huge part of being a little kid–and because you were a little kid, it’s a vital part of who you are today in ways it takes a long, long time to realize.
Little kids are like little sponges, soaking up the traits and trademark behaviors of people who leave them in awe. Mom. Dad. Grandma. Grandpa. Star athletes, pop stars, movie stars. The older kid who listens to the kind of music that concerned parents currently despise and who wears his clothes and hair in the fashion that currently signifies his rebel status.
Awe makes you blindly copy everything about the person you’re in awe of. You walk the way they walk. You talk the way they talk. You style your hair like they do. In a small tribe, blindly copying others is awesome.
Think about it: You’re a little kid, and you see someone you think is the coolest. Maybe that person is the best canoe maker or the grandma who makes the most delicious food. You want to be just like these people when you grow up. And so, in a small tribe, you sidle up to them and start copying them, beginning with the superficial. But as you spend a lot of time with them (say, oh, 10,000 hours) you come to understand on a deeper and deeper level what they do that makes them successful. You learn their skills and even the way they think.
But what’s great about awe is also what sometimes makes it a huge problem. In a large, modern society, most of us never meet our heroes. Instead, we only see the public image that they’ve created. The result is that we can be tricked by advertisers into blindly copying behaviors that hurt us.
How cool does the Marlboro man look? Want to be like him? You can be! Just smoke Marlboro cigarettes.
Want to be sexy, cool, and desirable like Britney? Then drink the choice of a new, cool generation.
Because awe leads you to copy others blindly, sustained reflection helps you to realize what you’ve soaked up from mom, dad, and clever ad campaigns that don’t have your best interests at heart.
The Secret Of Our Success: How Culture Is Driving Human Evolution
