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If we've met, you probably realize that I'm an intense, intentional guy. Some people call me serious. And I may very well be those things, but I'm also real clear about how the Inner Matrix works. Let’s just take a second to remember that your Inner Matrix is your unique set of emotions and thought patterns that drive your choices, decisions and actions. Those choices, decisions and actions ultimately define every aspect of your life. But here’s the thing, while your Inner Matrix is the result of your unique life experiences, the nervous system it’s layered over is the result of hundreds of millions of years of evolution. Essentially, we’re running our 2024 software on OS 100 million B.C.
Which can make for some interesting negotiation between the modern world and our ancient nervous systems. For example, we're all inside of a primitive pain-pleasure negotiation. At all times. About everything. This inherent drive to move toward pleasure and away from pain is hard-wired into the nervous system and dictates our actions like a puppeteer. Just the other day I was listening to a podcast about the evolution of intelligence. Talk about a nailbiter! I could’ve listened to these guys talk all day. But it was the beginning of the story that really stuck with me and relates to what we’re talking about today.
It’s believed that the first brain was nothing more than two neurons (brain cells) that got stuck together inside the cell membrane of some microscopic creature floating in the primordial oceans more than 3 billion years ago. Each of those neurons performed exactly one function. When the creature sensed food nearby, in this case simple sugars, one neuron would fire telling the creature to move in that direction. If the creature started to stray from the food, the other neuron would fire, telling the creature it was going in the wrong direction. Pretty cool, right!
Our modern brains are made of billions of neurons, all working together to try and make sense of the world around us. Obviously our world is far more complex than that of our friend with literally two brain cells to rub together, but the same basic binary system is still at work. Move toward the good (food), move away from the bad (no food). Although in our complex, multi-layered, multi-sensory world, the good has evolved to include more than just food (though food may still hold the number one spot), and the bad has evolved to include anything that may present a danger to us.
For 99% percent of the time that humans have been on this planet, the world was a very dangerous, hostile place. It’s only been the last five minutes that we’ve had things like indoor plumbing, central air, and DoorDash. A million years worth of our ancestors spent their short lives in a near constant state of alertness. There was no telling where the next threat may come from. There was also no telling where the next meal might come from. Which means our nervous system evolved to avoid anything that may cause us pain and reward us when we’re moving in the direction of the food.
This is why we eat the cookie instead of do the push-up. It's why we take yet another class in our favorite subject to develop our talent rather than pick up the phone to make the cold calls that will grow our business. It's why we put on another episode of our favorite show rather than have the uncomfortable conversation. Until we're trained, this all occurs unconsciously. In order to truly master ourselves, we've got to not only understand that this is happening, we need to consciously wire pleasure to the action that will get us the result we want.
This is the beauty of the nervous system. Yes, it’s hardwired to seek pleasure and avoid pain, and yes, that can lead us to make poor decisions, but it can also be rewired to use that process to our advantage. Let’s take working out, for example. For some people, going to the gym is like a kid going to Disneyland. They absolutely love it, can’t wait to get there, sorry when it’s over. For most people, that’s not the case. For most people, going to the gym ranges anywhere from an inconvenient chore to the worst idea in the world. With the proper tools, techniques, and strategies, we can train the nervous system to see the gym as a big floating glob of sugar until it lights up at the very thought of a StairMaster, telling you, Yes! Go in that direction!
It doesn’t happen overnight, of course. It takes work, intention, and consistency. Part of this process is to celebrate our wins! We chose the apple over the brownie last night–Woo Hoo! We booked time on our calendar to make our client calls, and we made those calls! Yessss! We felt awkward as hell but went to that networking event anyway. Heck-Yeah, on your way to greatness! When we take just a minute to acknowledge when we’re getting it right, we reinforce that action. We tie the good feels to the action that will move us closer to our vision, which will have us do it more consistently. And over time, the mind's negative bias is erased.
For valuable evolutionary reasons, our minds are predisposed to focus on and neutralize threats. This is very handy in keeping us alive, but doesn't create for a very vibrant, joyful life. When we celebrate our wins, we consciously shift focus from what's wrong to what's right, what's going well. Now somebody cue the music because a party is about to break out! The new year is right around the corner. Let’s take stock of how far we've come and celebrate those wins!
If you’re looking for a win to celebrate right now, how about celebrating the decision to join us for one of our Power Series programs? Click HERE to make that happen today!
