The Birthplace of Ideas
Did you know that your cortical brain is:
- this newest part of the brain is what makes you human
- creativity, imagination, storytelling and spirituality start from here
- it’s also the part that can really get in your way
The most primitive part of our brain is the reptilian brain. It’s only concern is survival.
It’s the part that makes you worry about money.
The limbic brain developed after the reptilian brain.
It’s the bit that helps us colloabrate and live in community.
It’s the bit most intricately connected to our bodies, monitoring and governing our heart rate, blood circulation, cooling system and immune system, amongst other things.
The most modern part of our brains, the one responsible for our modern world is the cortical brain.
- New ideas
- Future visions
- Intricate plans
- and Gantt charts come from here
It weaves reality and tells stories.
And because of that it’s also the source of the inner critic, our sense of imposter syndrome, fear of failure and shame.
It communicates with the limbic and reptilian brains to creates stories of pleasure and pain.
Referring to Buddhist teachings, the cortical brain is the one that fires the second arrow.
The first arrow is the actual event: the missed deadline, failed project or lost sale…
The second arrow is the self-criticism and catastrophising that follows.
This is all courtesy of your cortical brain (gee’d on by your limbic and reptilian brains.
When you realise this, and understand that the extra pain is your own doing then you can learn to respond differently.
There’s a saying I learned recently “when you’re up to your neck in shit, it’s not time to make waves”
- Let the cortical brain do its thing
- Observe it
- Be compassionate
You are not your thoughts.
You can watch your thoughts.
That’s the beauty of understanding the nature of your brain and your mind.
Practises like meditation and mindfulness help you un-attach from your thought spirals and give you some space to calm the body (and your limbic brain).
Entrepreneurs, particularly A-types, identify so much with their brains.
They believe in their ideas and their capabilities.
They have to.
But they can also find themselves believing in the dramas their brains create.
Understanding your brain and your mind is your best defence against failure, making wrong choices and navigating uncertainty.