Biology to Psychology
We are wired for connection. From our biology to our psychology, belonging is essential to our well-being and our survival. A sense of meaning and shared purpose is foundational.
Self-preservation is also natural. Our physiological systems activate when our safety is threatened. We either fight or retreat to isolation.
Over time, this instinct for self-preservation has shifted us away from a collective species toward individualism. Even within teams, the reiteration of “self-care” often reinforces the need to pull-away, as if a threat is always present or imminent.
A Healthy Hive
Marcus Aurelius wrote, “what is not good for the beehive, cannot be good for the bee.” Jim Harbaugh flips it forward: “what’s good for the hive is good for the bee.”
Healthy teams, and healthy individuals, are built when we invest in the whole rather than just the self. As Seth Godin reminds us, this often means doing things for others even when we are not required to.
Rabindranath Tagore captured this beautifully:
“I slept and dreamt that life was joy.”
– A false belief that joy is found in getting what we want.
“I awoke and saw that life was duty.”
– A recognition that service to others is necessary.
“I acted, and behold, duty was joy.”
– The realization that joy comes from serving something greater than yourself.
