Humans, as we know them today, have been successful as a species for many thousands of years. Over those millennia, a series of behaviors have sustained us and helped us survive in many different circumstances. Most of our behaviors have stuck with us for so long because, in general, our living conditions haven’t changed much. I don’t mean living conditions in the sense of caves versus houses, or cars versus horses, but the conditions of our lives together.

I want to give you a very brief description of the 3 main groups of behavior established in Human Design as a little background to understand ourselves. These 3 groups are the foundations of our main human themes. Deeply buried in our DNA, they impact us as individuals in our daily lives well below the threshold of consciousness.

Tribal

Very early on we developed a set of behaviors that were useful and valuable when we lived in a small community setting like families, clans, tribes. Living conditions between people in that kind of general environment are quite close, quite intimate, with a lot of interdependence and a lot of competition.

When you live in a close-knit community, there are rules that govern ownership, property, and marriage, and these rules are often rigid and largely based on status. In general, the status in this type of social groups is directly related to the survival value that a person has. Strength, stamina, hunting skills, skill in warfare, as well as general life experience (wisdom), memory of lore and what has worked in the past all contribute to status. A good hunter and a wise old man are of great value, so they have a high status.

These small groups were founded on some type of kinship (blood or marriage). The closer the relationship between the members, the more willing and able they are to provide for and protect each other. These behaviors are still genetically encoded in human DNA. Each person, depending on their design, will have more or less genetics for these behaviors.

Collective

We have also developed a set of behaviors that are useful and valuable when we live in a community setting where blood ties are much more diffuse. Towns and cities are an example of this condition of life. In general, people in this condition are simply less inclined to support each other in the same way that family members support each other. From the point of view of Human Design, there is a general agreement in the collective that there is some collaboration in certain areas (for example, defense, education, etc.). Behaviors that are valuable in such an environment include logic, planning, organizing, exploring, and storytelling. Status here is based on one’s ability to help the group achieve common goals.

Because large groups require more organization to achieve a goal, people who are good managers and good innovators are valued. The democratic system -a simple majority of 51%- is a good example of the collective.

individual

Throughout all the social interaction that takes place in society and human culture, there is a fundamental base: the individual. Without a bunch of individuals you never have a group. Behaviors that are useful and valuable to the individual are essentially about personal survival and personal satisfaction. People often form short-term alliances (think social media). Individual behaviors are, to a large extent, a kind of threat to tribal and collective groups because, by their very nature, those groups want to be stable. However, the individual cares very little for the stability of the group and, in fact, often interrupts it, usually unintentionally.

To a group, any individual is an “outsider,” someone with their own way of doing things. In Human Design there are quite a few of these “individual” behaviors. They are genetically important because by ensuring the satisfaction and survival of the individual, they often end up helping the tribe or the collective, even though that is not their goal.

The result

As people, we often run into a lot of problems when dealing with others because one person is (at the moment) displaying tribal behavior while the other person is displaying collective or group behavior. They don’t fit very well. As you better understand the type of behavior that is coming from yourself and the other, it will be easier to resolve the differences.

What’s really interesting, to me, is that almost all human behavior falls into one of these three categories. If you learn, even in general terms, what characterizes groups, it’s not that hard to spot the behaviors in yourself and others.

In the next article I will share some possibilities with you.