Motivational Triad

We have inherited a genome that has been shaped by the hammer and anvil of environmental pressures over time to produce two primary drives:

• Survival

• Reproduction

These drives are supported, even coerced by our emotions and feelings that are dictated by a hard-wired “GPS” – genetic positioning system described by Lisle and Goldhamer as the Motivational Triad.

In short, we are programmed to:

• Seek pleasure,
• Avoid pain,
• And do it all with the greatest economy of energy.

Although this innate tendency served us well when food was hard to come by and life-threatening dangers lurked around every corner of the cave, it can lead to our downfall in the secure, convenient and abundant world we find ourselves in today.  Our biggest challenges of today stem from the mismatch between our genetic programming for survival in famine and our modern sedentary lives of excess.

Compounding this dynamic is the awareness of this Motivational Triad by the modern marketplace and their relentless exploitation of it.  The world is designed to service your wants, encourage your comfort, and promote your excess.  On the front end this sounds like a life of comfort and ease, but unfortunately, the consequences are broad and devastating.  The world is not designed to promote optimal health, just immediate satisfaction.

Because our ancient hard-wiring can lead to our downfall in a modern world, we must be mindful and deliberate in our approach to better health.  We must clarify that our objective is ultimately true health and vitality, and not simply symptom treatment.  We must discriminate and follow only the specific evidence-based strategies that research has shown to be aligned with our genetic make-up.  Most importantly, we must reinforce these genetically congruent behaviors by leveraging proven, supportive influence techniques that are nothing short of social jujitsu.  This is the essence of the Bonfire Health Program.  This is the solution.