By James Razko
Inside your mind, a constant war rages, and the winner gets the keys to your consciousness. The two combatants, your rational self and irrational/emotional self, are always in flux, vying for control. And, more often than not, your irrational self is winning.
For our prehistoric ancestors, big kitties were regularly trying to eat them, and food wasn’t found in a grocery store. A lot of amygdala induced thoughts (emotional thinking) served them well. They survived. Today, despite what the news is telling you, you are mostly safe, and for many of us, food is everywhere. We don’t need to hold on to this ancestral survival mechanism.
At the moment, many irrational/emotional decisions have unwanted consequences. For example; Overeating will kill you, fighting will land you in jail, running from a mouse might get you hit by a car, and cheating on your spouse might ruin your family. And so the scale has tipped, and as a species, we are out of cognitive balance.
So how do you tip the scale and regain equilibrium not just to survive but thrive? The answer– be more rational.
With this in mind, It can be easy to think that the rational side should always be driving. However, both are necessary. Take for example the moon landing, using an unbelievable amount of resources, both natural and human to step on a giant floating and barren rock, isn’t wholly rational.
So, being irrational sometimes can be good. But not for most of your day. What you need to do is pass the keys over to your rational mind and let the irrational you sit shotgun, to peek out when it’s actually necessary.
How do you do it?
It can be as easy as asking yourself a simple question.
Ask– is this what I really want for myself? If the answer is no, then your irrational self was driving your consciousness actions.
You may say– I want to eat 20 chocolate chip cookies, but do you really want to? If you really really do, go ahead. But, If after some reflection you find you actually don’t want to, suspecting that your amygdala is up to its old tricks– dont eat 20 chocolate chip cookies.
Repeat these kinds of questions often enough, and you will gain a deeper level of self-awareness and soon find your rational self sitting in the driver’s seat more often.
Don’t wait, pass the keys.
Compliment this by reading with: Tap Into Your Reticular Activating System to Accomplish More Goals