The Worry Machine

In times of turmoil, I go back to basics.

The brain is a worry machine. I remember asking my friend’s mom ‘what’s it like, not having money for so long and then having it?’ She’d been working class and now had gobs. ‘To be honest, the only thing different is, you don’t worry about money. When you’re broke, it’s all you can think about. When you have money, you worry about other things. About your kids. About your family.’

I thought of myself, a man who worries about money. But I don’t worry about food. For most of human evolution we worried about food. For many cultures, food procurement was all day every day. I don’t worry too much about shelter, I can pay my rent.

Once we have our needs met, we find other needs. Our brains are diggers, diggers, they need a problem to solve. If you have food, then you need money. If you have enough money, you need belonging, art, or more money. Or status. If you have status you need legacy. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a result of our brain’s discontent nature. If you’re not familiar… this is a framework of human needs. Once you’ve attained one level, you begin needing the one above: