The reptilian brain, our oldest brain, operates at the level of survival instinct. It’s the life of easy choices — Can I eat it? Will it eat me? Can I mate with it? This brain regulates basic life functions, generates strong primitive emotions needed for survival (lust, fear, aggression, disgust), doesn’t take orders, and is so far away from “executive central” (the neocortex) it doesn’t even know we have one. It is also the seat of addiction; you don’t use it, it uses you until and unless you get conscious and learn some EQ. Unmanaged it results in “poor judgment,” so increase your awareness and EQ to learn how to incorporate this vital but sometimes troublesome source of knowledge into your life.
1. Hitting your partner instead of hitting the in-box.
Learning to manage your anger and use it in a constructive way is a vital life skill, because it’s a matter of life and death. Anger kills. It compromises the immune system, causes cardiovascular chaos and drives others away. Isolation (emotional) is more detrimental to your health than smoking, high blood pressure or obesity.
2. Banging the law clerk instead of banging the gavel.
Focusing on your erection instead of the proposal, or watching the boss’ crotch instead of watching the deadline will wreak havoc in your work life. Sex is best enjoyed with the right person, in the right way, at the right time, and under the right circumstances. This almost never applies to work.
3. Stealing someone’s yogurt from the staff lounge refrigerator.
Hunger is a basic drive, but stealing is stealing. What goes on in the office refrigerator is a major cause of daily stress at work that’s rarely mentioned.
4. Defending your turf instead of defending the merits of your proposal.
We are territorial. We hate it when someone uses our pen, desk, computer, secretary, or idea. This is the very basis of Anglo-Saxon law–physical ownership. Laws develop because rights are being violated. Learning when to get out of an ego-position (defending something conceptual, not tangible) is an important part of EQ.
5. Losing a client or sale because you “lose it”.
Another basic instinct that can disable your neocortex causing poor judgment, is pain. There’s physical pain — a migraine, for instance, and there’s emotional pain — at it’s extreme we have “justifiable homicide” – when someone finds their lover in bed with another and kills one or both. Know what pain can do to your ability to function.
6. Firing a good worker because you’re “on fire”.
How well did your brain function last time you had a fever? How attentive was your last audience when the temperature in the room approached 80 degress? When the temperature in our environment approaches a ‘threatening’ range, we react physically. Violence rises when the temperature soars because our neocortex shuts down in order to address the most important thing: staying alive. A lot of stress in offices has to do with the eternal fights over what the thermostat’s set at.
7. Freezing in the middle of your keynote speech.
Fear is a basic instinct, and our brains don’t know the difference between present and past, real and not-real. Speaking to a large group is not life-threatening. It’s not even dangerous, but many of us react as if it were.
8. Pounding your chest instead of pounding the pavement.
Any threat can bring on “posturing” — when we pound our chest, strut, bellow, and try to appear larger and more threatening to the perceived threat. You will rarely convince anyone of anything by posturing. Learn other ways to manage your emotions. If you got fired, the appropriate response is not to waste time defending a lost position, but to believe in yourself and get busy finding a new job.
9. Snoozing and losing.
Need for sleep is primal. If you’re not getting enough sleep at night, you’ll be dozing off in meetings. Have an energizing snack around 3 pm when we’re at our lowest, and lay off the sugar.
10. Shooting up instead of shooting up the corporate ladder
Addictions lie in the reptilian brain. If you need professional help, please get it.
Susan Dunn, MA, Marketing Coach,
http://www.webstrategies.cc. Marketing consultation,
implementation, website review, SEO optimization, article
writing and submission, help with ebooks and other
strategies. Susan is the author or How to Write an eBook
and Market It on the Internet. Mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc
for information and free ezine. Specify Checklist.
