The Golden Thread: The Ancient Instinct That Guides Your Life

The seeker thread that pulls you forward

Author

Caroline Makepeace
November 24, 2025

Hi

I heard something on a podcast this morning that stopped me in my tracks: the 7 ancient instincts wired into every human.

Seeking: the instinct to explore and meet needs
Anger: the instinct to protect and defend
Fear: the instinct to avoid danger
Panic–Grief: the instinct to respond to loss
Care: the instinct to nurture
Pleasure/Lust: the instinct to enjoy and pursue pleasure
Play: the instinct to create, imagine, and explore joy

And out of all seven, researchers say seeking is the most powerful.

When you look at that list, it makes sense. Play is beautiful. Pleasure can be intoxicating. Care is grounding.

But seeking feels… older. Deeper. More evolutionary. More purposeful.

It’s the instinct that pulls us toward growth instead of stagnation, wonder instead of numbness, and expansion instead of fear.

I’ve always called myself a seeker — long before I knew it was anything scientific. It’s who I’ve been for my entire adult life… a nomad wandering the world, never feeling fully at home anywhere, yet somehow feeling at home everywhere.

Seeking is where my joy lives:

in discovering new cultures, new landscapes, new corners of myself,
in noticing the golden thread between people, nature, and the unseen world,
in the lifelong curiosity to keep learning, researching, reading, exploring what else might be possible.

But seeking is not just for the easy, beautiful moments. It’s also what carries me through the hard ones.

It gives me the lens to look at challenges and ask not, “Why is this happening to me?”
but

❝

“Why is this happening for me?”
What is this teaching me?
What new path is opening?
What part of myself wants to be discovered now?

As we move into this week — a week that, for many in the US, holds joy for some and pain or confusion for others with the layers of Thanksgiving — I invite you to lean into your most ancient instinct:

Seek.

Seek the joy.
Seek the connection.
Seek the good, even if it’s small.
Seek the lesson hidden in the messy parts.
Seek the version of yourself that rises through it.

And pay attention to how living in rhythm with your ancient instinct doesn’t just make life feel more purposeful… It makes you feel more powerful, more grounded, and more connected to the people whose lives you weave a thread through.

Other loves this week:

  • Holiday celebrations: A very busy week in Raleigh attending Christmas Parades, tree lighting ceremonies, Christmas bars, and new openings.

  • Listening: Louis Tomlinson, former One Direction member, on the Diary of a CEO podcast.

  • Insight: “Own the growth, not the struggle”

NOTE: If you randomly landed on this story and are not subscribed to the Golden Thread, you can join us by filling in the form below 👇

Reply

or to participate.