Do you react or reason? Well, that depends on which part of the brain you activate. To greatly simplify neuroscience, the brain can be divided into three main areas of function. The most advanced is the forebrain or neocortex, which is responsible for thinking and reasoning. It has also been called the primate brain.
Below is the lower brain, made up of the midbrain or limbic system, which includes the amygdala. This area is often called the mammalian brain. The limbic system is the emotional center. The amygdala is the center of emotional learning. Feelings of love, hate, lust, anger, fear, revenge, and satisfaction come from this area of the brain.
When the amygdala is activated, feels threatened, or when there is a feeling that people might laugh at you, it takes over. The emotion rises to turn you off. This can be seen as natural resistance, the persistent voice that fears failure, keeps you in the safe zone, and works to avoid being noticed.
There is a biological basis that creates fear and uncertainty, finds excuses, and makes tasks unnecessarily complex or simplified to stop your progress. Resistance can be so powerful that it will undermine every shortcut, time saver, and focus tool you try to use. It’s subtle and sounds sensible enough, but it will compromise your goals and undermine your efforts.
Below that is the final area, the hindbrain. It developed hundreds of millions of years ago and is located in the area of the brainstem, which is located at the base of the skull coming off the spinal column. As the oldest and smallest region of the human brain, its function is evident in its reactions.
It is similar to the entire brain of modern reptiles. It is often called the “reptile brain” or “lizard brain” as it is found in lower life forms such as lizards, crocodiles, and birds. This part of the brain determines your general level of alertness and regulates the body’s autonomic brain processes, such as breathing, heartbeat, digestion, blood pressure, and the fight or flight response.
The reptilian brain lacks language; it acts on impulses that are ritualistic and instinctive. Fundamental needs such as survival, self-care, dominance, and mating are their primary concerns. Procrastination and being hypercritical are products of the reptilian brain, which also creates anxiety, obsessions, and excuses.
When you procrastinate, your reptilian brain feels a threat, something that feels like resisting. You begin to feel emotionally bored with the task, which can even lead to fear. This is your reptilian brain trying to stop you from getting out of the box and doing something new, even if it’s potentially beneficial. Act out of fear and limit yourself to the status quo.
The reptilian brain is reacting, not thinking. When you find yourself procrastinating, ask yourself, “What is the deepest reason I might feel threatened by this task?” When you deal with it or confront it, you are activating the rational and thinking part of the brain and can start to handle the task even more.
To the reptilian brain, things are black and white, and never your fault. And while your reptilian brain is busy reacting, your mind will be engaged in subtle fear-based judgments and unfocused on the task at hand. Be aware of this. The skills to instantly suspend judgment, stay on task, and overcome the status quo are important steps in transforming behavior.
Often when you make decisions that do not align with your rational belief system, or do not do what you think you should do, it is due to the influence of the reptilian brain. By calming that area of the brain, you will increase control over your thoughts and intentional behavior.
Therefore, it becomes vital that you recognize what behaviors result from the reptilian brain. When you recognize that these are simple reactions, you can begin to address them using the thinking part of your brain.
By breaking the task down into simple steps and deciding to act only on step one, you can dispel the sense of threat that the reptilian brain encounters. Once you’ve completed step one, your chance of continuing with the process is high, after all, you were able to do the hardest part, getting started. You have now established a simple way to override the reptilian brain mentality.
The reptilian brain, in association with the limbic system, determines and conditions much of your behavior. By paying attention to these reactions, you can engage the thinking part of your brain and start making simple adjustments to create the results you want.
