He has not learned the lesson of life who does not every day surmount a fear.
― JULIUS CAESAR—
Too much comfort and safety dulls the brain. It’s time to become an adrenaline junkie.
The fastest way to get our brains fully engaged is to put ourselves in situations that we fear. It doesn’t have to be that we risk our lives or anything; it just has to be a slight fear. Depending on our perceived fear or discomfort from doing a thing, the more neurotransmitters and hormones we will produce and the longer our brain tends to remain activated.
Our ability to ‘force’ ourselves to do things despite being afraid or bothered them, depend on quite a few factors, where the most important ones include becoming familiar with the two parts of the brain called the prefrontal cortex (PFC), and the amygdala. More on that in the following chapters.
There are infinite ways of triggering adrenaline seeing as how we all have our individual fears, but I am just going to be dealing with those that are practical in daily life in order to help BOOH daily and improve productivity. Thus I am not going to be talking about skiing in steep slopes, climbing mountains or bungee jumping – though of course they are great examples of activities that trigger adrenaline and activate the brain, but they are not particularly mundane. But if you have the opportunity to do those kinds of things you definitely should make it a part of your daily routine.
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If I have an important event coming up I try to work my mind into a peak state. I will notice rather quickly if my brain is becoming disengaged and working at a less than optimal level. If the situation allows it I will often try activating my brain again by triggering adrenaline as this is the fastest way to get it back working at an optimal level. ● ● ● Recommended Reading
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Seth Godin Linchpin ● ● ●BREAKING OUT OF HOMEOSTASIS
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I do this in a few different ways: most commonly by speaking up, by frequently asking questions or making assertions, by talking to random people, or by public speaking. It’s really a way of life, as with most other habits in this book.
I try to do this as soon as possible when I get to class (or any other event) in order to ensure that I stay in momentum and that my brain continues to stay activated from what I have done earlier in the morning. As a rule, the more stupid we feel while doing something, and the more we put our personality on the line, the bigger the positive effect will be for us in terms of effect and duration. Very few people are willing to look bad in public situations; even though it makes them way more alert and will improve their brains in the long-term; given that it’s done in a conscious and deliberate way.
Speak Up
When we do something we fear or think is uncomfortable –such as public speaking – what actually happens from an evolutionary standpoint is that our brain thinks it is in a threatening situation and will react as though our lives are endangered. Depending on the extent of our fears this may cause a fight-or-flight response powerful enough to cause an “amygdala hijack”, meaning that our entire thought process is blocked out because the brain think it is in mortal danger and has to prepare us to defend ourselves optimally.
This mechanism would be great if we actually were in a dangerous situation, but we are not. We have all experienced this. However, in cases like this, the brain’s perception of the situation is disconnected to the reality at hand – but it can’t tell the difference. Logically you know that you are not going to get killed for speaking up, but your amygdala is older and has precedence over your neocortex, which is the part of the brain responsible for most of the thought process. The end result is that after we do a thing like this, the silly brain believes it’s in danger and has to work harder to survive. Suddenly, its ability to absorb and retain information is greatly improved – because it literally thinks its life depends on it!
A more scientific explanation of the phenomenon is that the
adrenaline triggers the release of glucose into the body, which gives rise to increased energy and concentration right now in this moment. This makes us feel very interested, alert, and usually euphoric.
Another good reason to trigger adrenaline and do scary things is because memories are significantly strengthened by an emotional anchor. Just think of the time when you made a fool of yourself in front of class as a ten year old kid. The humiliations of that
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There are a few different scientific theories as to why an experience accompanied by a strong emotion increases the vividness of the memory, most of these theories have to do with using multiple parts of your brain and body so that the memory has more places to be connected to. This is an oversimplified explanation of course, but in the end it doesn’t matter that much, the point is that this principle works without the shadow of a doubt for me and many other people, therefore I’m not very interested in knowing more about it.
So, to sum up:
◊ Speak up ASAP in a meeting or large crowd of people so as to quickly engage the brain and trigger
adrenaline. By doing this you get ‘buy-in’ from yourself and you’ll want to keep yourself in this alert stage. This is uncomfortable for many people, but you have to realize that nothing will happen, it’s only your brain being afraid and trying to keep you from doing it. If you aren’t used to doing this you will feel great.
◊ By now you know how much homeostasis wants to keep you from changing thing around; therefore, don’t think about it. Just do it ASAP without caring what you’re saying. Say anything; just get that buy-in quickly. Most people aren’t paying attention anyway. ◊ If you hesitate it will only get worse. The longer you
wait, the more doubt you experience, and the more power your brain will hold over you. Remember it doesn’t want to exert more energy than it has to. Its only chance to remain in homeostasis is to keep you from starting. This passivity will only increase as time goes by, which is why you have to break it off ASAP and start by doing the complete opposite – activating your brain!
BREAKING OUT OF HOMEOSTASIS