The misfortunes of people come from the fact that they cannot sit quietly in their room, the philosopher Blaise Pascal believed. Biologist Jean-Didier Vincent explains why we absolutely need to act.
There are people who are so attached to their work that it seems as if they draw their life energy from it. For them, professional obligations always come first — and this does not depend on money or power. Of course, excessive «workaholism», close to pathology, is rare, but an ordinary person is also forced to work in order to live. Does this go against his nature?
Psychologies:
Is man created to work?
First of all, he was created in order to act … But his activity becomes work when it is organized in accordance with cultural and social norms. Our closest relatives, the monkeys, do much the same as we do, and are even socially organized to some extent. But there are no rules and regulations that regulate their activities. Work as a form of action is unique to man.
It turns out that work is a natural need for us?
J.-D. IN.: Yes, animals differ from plants in their ability to move freely in space. Vertebrates, on the other hand, have another distinctive feature due to the development of sensitivity — they can act in a certain way in a certain situation. In other words, coordinate your actions depending on your emotions. In fact, it is emotions that drive actions, not the other way around. Everything happens in a small part of the brain that controls emotions: any mental impulse in one form or another eventually results in action. This proves that no vertebrate can be idle.
- Can you get by without a job?
Then why is it so hard for some of us to force ourselves to work?
Because the action itself is aimed at satisfying desires, but the need to work is associated with the search for new experiences and strongly depends on the nature of the person. There are people who can be called «emotion seekers» — they constantly strive to experience more emotions than others (and therefore? And work more than others). People of this type, inactivity can lead to depression, alcohol, drugs.
It turns out that activity serves as a medicine for them?
Certainly. Take, for example, boredom caused by the constant repetition of the same action or the lack of novelty in life as such. Boredom can make some people depressed. But it can also be a powerful «engine of progress.» For example, remember your behavior in a car when you are stuck in a traffic jam. You end up suffering from a lack of movement, and this «suffering» often results in antisocial behavior — aggression and insults directed towards others.
There are people who are constantly thinking, while others are in constant motion. Why?
Because people are programmed differently in terms of ways to satisfy their desires. There are two systems in our brain — “desires” and “compensation”, and for each of us they work in their own way, releasing endorphins: dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin, better known as “hormones of happiness”. From the moment a person is born, the difference in the work of these structures becomes fundamental to his character. Thrill seekers are like some cars — they can only function properly at high speeds! Other people do not have such an urgent need for action, they are more prone to contemplation. Just do not oppose them to each other: very often «meditating» people are in such a state of internal activity that they can by no means be called «people of inactivity.» Also, do not forget that we are all under a very strong influence of family traditions, society, common culture and religion … It is important not to resist your natural inclinations.
When does the need for action go beyond the norm?
Each person has their own boundaries. Let’s look at those who constantly work to the limit of their capabilities: they make 10 meetings at the same time, they try to be in time everywhere, they collect information endlessly. When they stop for just a second, they get the feeling that they are not doing anything. Such people need constant movement, which keeps their brains in a state of activity. But such an attitude can become pathological, when it becomes difficult for a person to be alone with himself in silence or to allow himself a little vacation from time to time!