Let’s talk about our nature. I think that there are two types of human nature: The Hunter Type and The Farmer Type. And they tell us the suitable work style.
The nature of being too concentrated
One day, someone tweeted on SNS, “I often get too concentrated on one thing. I want to modify this habit.” She seemed to concentrate on one thing when she was interested in it. And it prevents her from doing other fundamental activities, such as eating, exercising, and sleeping. In other words, she got too enthusiastic if she found something interesting. So she wanted to stop it.
By the way, I also have such a characteristic. I want to concentrate on one thing at a time.
And this tendency would be one of our human natures, not our habits. In other words, there are two types of human nature: The Hunter Type and The Farmer Type. If we know these two kinds of nature, we might be able to use our nature more effectively.
The Hunter Type and The Farmer Type
The Hunter Type and The Farmer (Gatherer) Type are as follows:
- The Hunter Type is the person who wants to concentrate on one thing at a time. The more we can concentrate, the more enjoyable it is.
- The Farmer (Gatherer) Type is the person who wants to feel various things at once. The more varied they feel, the more they can enjoy.
We may understand this difference by asking ourselves whether we prefer a buffet or a specialty restaurant.
If we are The Hunter Type, we often prefer a specialty restaurant to a buffet because we can eat what we most want to eat at the time. When we want to eat fried chicken, we will go to the fried chicken shop. We don’t need to go to a buffet. In other words, people of this type don’t need anything unnecessary. So we choose and eat certain foods.
On the other hand, The Farmer Type prefers a buffet because we can enjoy various things at a time. Variety makes them enthusiastic, even if it contains many unnecessary things.
The work style of each type
The Hunter Type prefers hunting to growing. They want to finish one thing at a time and avoid repetitive work. And they like updating their tools to fit their hunting style. They will be excited if they find other animals to hunt and new possibilities. They like thinking about how to accomplish it.
On the other hand, The Farmer Type prefers growing or harvesting variously to hunting one thing. They want to feel various feelings at once. They want to use the same tools and avoid new learning. They don’t care if it’s repetitive, as long as they can feel various things.
The origin of these natures
Perhaps this originated in our old culture, the hunter-gatherer culture. It was the way of life for early humans until around 12,000 years ago, before the invention of agriculture. Our ancestors lived by hunting animals and foraging for food.
In this situation, we need different characteristics to do hunting and gathering. If we hunt an animal, we need to concentrate on it because the aim is fixed. To achieve it, we build our strategies. So the hunting type will suit the hunting workstyle.
On the other hand, if we gather foods, such as fruits or nuts, it’s better to direct our interests to various things at once. So we can find a variety of foods.
The Farmer Type originated from this gathering type. They developed agriculture after the hunter-gatherer period, around 12,000 years ago.
Our society is based on The Farmer Type
Our society is almost based on farming. So people value The Farmer Type. And The Farmer Type is easy to live with. On the other hand, The Hunter Type will often feel too concentrated.
This is the same as being right-handed or left-handed. Minor left-handers often have trouble because our society is based on major right-handers. In the same way, if we are The Hunter Type, we often have trouble concentrating too much.
But we can use it efficiently if we know it is part of nature. We can do other special things, like left-handers.
Perhaps The Hunter Type has a durable body and mind to live well, even if they reduce other fundamental activities when they concentrate on one thing. For The Farmer Type, it would be bad for their body and mental health. But for The Hunter Type, it would not affect them much.
Conclusion
So I think that there are two types of human nature: The Hunter Type and The Farmer Type. And they tell us the suitable work style.
We can build our lives to fit our nature. If we know these two kinds of nature, we might be able to use our nature more effectively.
Thank you for reading this article. I hope to see you at the next one.
