Synopsis
about the “Change You Brain Everyday” Blog
In this analogy the elephant and the rider represent two different brain systems. The elephant is the emotional limbic system and the rider is the thoughtful PFC. The rider can tame and control the elephant. If the elephant gets spooked or is not well trained the rider is virtually useless. This is the same with the interplay between the PFC and the limbic system. If you’ve trained up your limbic system the PFC can override an emotional decision. If you have not done the work to do the taming the limbic system can get easily triggered. Some of our worst decisions are made from an emotional state.
Exercise: Write out two situations where your emotional brain tends to highjack your thoughtful brain. What strategies can you use to get back in control?
The two situations where I tend to get hijacked by my emotions are when I’m mentally tired and when dealing with a specific person that deliberately pushes my buttons.
When I’m mentally tired I tend to be reactive. What its like is my PFC needs energy to be at the top of its game. When I’m sleepy, my rider is sleepy and the elephant can get away with more.
Prioritize Sleep
Prioritizing sleep through thoughtful scheduling the strategy I’ll implement. I’m going to start scheduling all personal appointments later in the day and turn down as many morning obligations as I can get away with. I’m an early bird but my sleep has been so inconsistent that I need the flexibility. Sometimes I get 7 hours of actual sleep by 5 AM, sometimes it takes until 8 AM. I often wake up in the middle of the night for a few hours. When this happens I can’t get up at 5 and be at the top of my game.
As far a the person that intentionally pushes my buttons, that is a tricky one. Its weird to say that they do it on purpose. They would disagree with this assessment. But this person is like a broken record. They repeatedly bring up sensitive areas knowing that they are sensitive areas. In fact the primary reason they are sensitive areas is because I’ve made my position clear and this person ignores it. That’s why I say it is deliberate.
Becoming a Minesweeper
As far as my strategy, I guess I just have to prepare my PFC before seeing this person. I need to train it like I’m training weights. As sure as the sun rises this person is going to try to walk through a minefield. It has happened so many times I should not be caught off guard anymore. I just need to mentally prepare. Before interacting with this person I’ll repeat to myself 10 times “I am a mine sweeper. I am a mine sweeper…” Maybe 3 sets of 10. Just like lifting.
Author – Coach Brian