Synopsis
about the “Change You Brain Everyday” Blog
Sigmund Freud theorized that the human psyche was composed of the id, the ego, and the super ego. The id is you childlike mind void of a mature prefrontal cortex (PFC). The id has poor decision making capabilities. The ego is the the well adjusted adult, and the super ego is the perfectionist helicopter parent focused on rewards, punishments, and criticism. The id is a function of an underactive PFC and the super-ego is a function of an overactive PFC.
Exercise: Think back over you life and ask yourself when you tend to make bad decisions. Is there a pattern that might involve low of high function of your PFC?
Most of my bad decisions have been made out of haste or desperation. Instead of fully thinking over a problem and coming to a mature solution I just do the easy and quick think. I take the quick temporary solution that cures the pain in the short run. The problem is that short term solutions are just that. Short term.
The pattern definitely is made by my id. Low function of the PFC causes my bad decisions. I never really thought poor decisions I have made as being childlike. Upon reflection of them the definitely are. Are like a child choosing to lie about eating candy with chocolate smeared all over his face. The child is just looking for the quickest route out of a sticky situation. He can’t even fathom that a wiser decision could be made. Even if he could he is not mature enough to admit guilt in the short run to relive pain in the long run.
My poor decisions were made by the Brian only looking out for right now Brian. Brian never looked out for tomorrow Brian. Once I started asking myself, “What would tomorrow Brian want me to do?” my decision making got a lot better. Now I don’t always look out for tomorrow Brian, but I try to. The thing is tomorrow Brian really appreciates it.
Looking out for tomorrow Brain leads to inner peace. A small example of this is packing a gym bag the night before. Believe me it makes a HUGE difference. It simplifies your morning. I have way more margin of error at nighttime than I do in the morning. While it is mildly annoying to pack a bag when I’m exhausted at night, it beats the pants of of being stressed to make it out the door on time without forgetting anything. Packing the night before is an easy way to avoid a negative feedback loop in the morning.
Author – Coach Brian