In a previous post, I have argued that life-history and personality are tightly connected. The rare hunter-gatherer personalities are on the slow end of the life-history spectrum and have therefore personality traits like being more cautious/fearful to ensure a longer life-span, which was necessary to raise your offspring, who in turn took longer to become adults.
Here are some signs from different points in a life-history that are indicative of a hunter-gatherer mind. In chronological order:
- You were a preemie or born overdue to parents who were probably older than the average parents when they had their first child.
- You were a highly reactive, difficult baby with a lot of crying and irregular sleeping patterns and very explorative
- As a toddler, you threw more tantrums than your peers (e.g. for not wanting to be buckled up in the kiddie seat)
- You were a picky eater
- You were highly sensitive to noises, itchy textiles, etc.
- You drove your parents crazy with your “why”-questions.
- You had difficulties connecting to other kids or you were hypersocial trying to connect to all kids
- You found the world was an unjust place (why do people not help the beggar in the street? etc.)
- You were frequently sad or melancholic without apparent cause
- You found elementary school boring and were dreamy or hyperactive; you might have been gifted, twice-exceptional (e.g. dyslexic and great at math) or a special education student
- Puberty came later for you
- You often didn’t understand the other teens' obsessions with brands, celebrities, fast cars, wrestling, certain TV shows, etc. and you were definitely not the one who owned the latest iPhone model.
- You were a loner in your teens, suffered from social anxiety and/or depression and might have been anarchistic, nihilistic or even suicidal, feeling you didn't belong our even that you live in the "Matrix".
- In your late teens, you found it easier to have friendships with people of the opposite sex than your own sex (too aggressive, competitive, bitchy, etc.), even as an adult you might still have a lot of opposite-sex friends
- You didn’t have your first romantic partner before the end of high school
- You were confused by relationships (too complicated, irrational, one-sided, not honest enough, etc.)
- Once you were grown up a lot of grown-ups continued to treat you like a child and didn’t take your ideas seriously. Even later in life you often feel misunderstood by others.
- You got frequently asked for an ID when ordering alcohol because you looked younger
- By your mid-20s, you thought your life had been an odyssey so far.
- You didn’t find the partner for life before your 30s (if ever)
- Your friends tend to live much further away from you than your neighbour’s who mostly live nearby.
