19
Nov 10
Hey, Ian Hart here. In this post I am going to talk about the different layers of your mind that may be causing you to unknowingly sabotaging your self. This may be the most important thing that you read before the holidays.
The 3 Brain Theory- In a nutshell this theory says that our brains have not simply evolved to another level greater than our animal ancestors, but that we have built more evolved brains on top of the ones we previously had, which are:
The Physical Brain- The survival Brain (Fight or Flight Response found in almost every living being from ants to humans)
Emotional Brain- Found in most mammals and allows us to connect to other mammals such as your house cat or dog. This brain is largley illogical and can be to blame for some of the not-so-smart things we can do from time to time (e.g. I am an emotional eater)
The Logical Brain- This is the brain that only humans have (apes may have smaller versions) and is the demarcation line separating us from the rest of the animals. We tend to believe that we are largley logical -that this part of the brain does most of the thinking for us.
The brains that ultimatley control our decision making are the emotional and physical brain but through a process of backward rationalization they make us feel as if we have made a logical decision about something. So in essence we believe that we have made a logical decision to an irrational action or decision. So think of it this way, you think in your head that what you might have done is logical, but if you explianed to some else your reasoning behind your actions, they might tell you that the dots are not connected.
Studies have been done where people have been hypnotized and told to close a window under hypnosis and they happily complied to the command. When they were snapped out of the hypnosis and were asked why they closed the window, they would rationalize it by saying because it was cold. This goes to show that people will rationalize their actions in a way that is logical to them, but is not the actual reason for their action. Does that make sense?
So how do we prevent this? Eliminating the inner friction between the 3 brains. The inner friction is the conversation you have in your head that might go something like this:
(Physical brain)”I am sooo hungry , I should just stop at McDonald’s to eat.
Then the logical brain buts in, ”you should be eating healthy food because you are trying to lose weight and you have a goal.
(Emotional brain) But if I don’t eat right now I am going to die!”
(Logical brain) “you are not going to starve to death, you just want to satisfy your needs quickly with something that tastes good.
(Emotional brain) “but I don’t have the time or the money to find something healthy.
So you then opt for the unhealthy meal and the pattern is created until a point is reached where your brain is saying what’s the point in eating anything healthy, it’s already too late… a logical answer to an emotional problem. Which usually leads to guilt and if done long enough can lead to depression. Then people try to cover up these emotions using pills and it becomes a vicious cycle down a raod that tough to turn around on.
To eliminate inner friction, we need congruency between the 3 brains. We need alignment so there’s no battle between the brains. And how do we get that alignment? If you are interested in the solution then leave a comment and when 10 comments are left in the comment section the answer will be revealed.
