Do I Fight, Flee or Freeze? The Reptilian Brain.
This is the role of the reptilian brain.
- it’s the most primitive part of the brain
- it’s the part that reacts in order to survive
- if it wasn’t there you wouldn’t be here
It’s the instinctive part that reacts automatically to maximise survival.
If you were only driven by this part of the brain you literally wouldn’t think twice.
Your priority would be you. And only you.
Stay safe. Don’t die.
How does this play out in business?
- look for certainty
- avoid risks
- be wary of everyone
Money, time and resources need to be preserved.
Not a great strategy if you’re needing to invest in a new idea.
Evolution has hardwired into us an acute awareness of threat.
It kept us safe from mortal danger in the past.
But it can stop us from changing our circumstances in the present.
“Better the devil you know” and “Loss aversion bias” are the impacts of the reptilian brain.
It’s instinctive.
But knowing this helps.
We can work with that knowledge and be less driven by instinct and more driven by imagination.
How do we work with this basic instinct?
Accept it. Thank it. And then focus on what could be.
Take a bigger picture view.
“We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”
Evolution has, through random mutations and natural selection, imperfectly created a perfect survival machine.
But we’re now learning how to survive in different ways.
We’ve learned to control our environment so that we’re less subject to nature.
But now we need to control our instincts so that we’re less subject to our base emotions.
Our inner worlds can project onto our outer worlds which make us feel like we live in a hostile world.
Seeing the world as it is is the work of a conscious and purposeful entrepreneur.
Fear is helpful. It stops us from being reckless.
But we’re more than just survival machines.
We look for more.
Taking new paths, exploring the world and returning to tell the tale.
Thank your reptilian brain for keeping you safe.
But don’t let it rule your life.