The Powerful Almond
What you will get:A story about your
Powerful Almond
Your Powerful Almond
So small yet so influential.
In everything you do.
In everything you feel.
And what’s more…
All your irrational fears are down to this tiny, almond-shaped area of your brain.
Fear of public speaking.
Fear of disappointing others.
Fear of heights.
Fear of failure.
Fear of success.
Fear of….(insert your irrational fear here as appropriate)
And the scientific name for your almond?
The Amygdala
Definition:
“a roughly almond-shaped mass of grey matter inside each cerebral hemisphere, involved with the experiencing of emotions.”
It evolved to protect you.
And still does.
That instinctual response to put on your car brakes before you have time to think.
The impulse to pull your arm away if you touch something too hot.
The automatic response of running away when faced by a mugger.
Problem is…
The amygdala is often overused in the modern world.
Especially in cases of what psychologists call Cognitive Anxiety.
When your thinking causes anxiety and can lead to lasting fears.
Here’s how it works…
You have a negative, irrational thought…
“The audience will think I’m stupid”
“I have a headache it must be something serious”
“I can’t ever go in the passenger seat again because last time I did we crashed”
These thoughts kick start your amygdala.
This powerful almond triggers an emotional response.
Adrenaline and cortisol get released.
Blood flows to your muscles.
You get ready to fight.
Anxiety builds.
And what’s worse…
Your amygdala, in it’s attempt to protect you, memorises this emotional response.
It “attaches” the thought to the emotion, so that it can repeat the anxiety response any time this thought is repeated.
It develops a fast track to your anxiety!
So whilst your amygdala does a great job in protecting you in genuine responses to danger, your unnecessary negative thoughts trigger it to get ready for “fight or flight” way too often. And this creates a memorised habitual response.
The solution?
First you have to become a Master of your thoughts – learning to recognise and eliminate unnecessary negative thoughts.
And at the same time, you have to re-programme the emotional response that your amygdala has memorised.
I’m not saying it’s easy.
But with the right support and combination of techniques, it can be done (for example cognitive-behaviour therapy combined with hypnotherapy).
I’m off to recognise and respect my amygdala for keeping me safe and continue learning how to manage it when it gets a little too enthusiastic.
How about you?
To your fulfilment.
Steve
Want to learn how you can become an outstanding leader by developing your emotional and social intelligence and by learning to be an effective coach?
The doors are now officially open for my Flagship Programme – the Masters in High Performance Leadership.
A pioneering journey designed to help you create the rules that work for your life!
I am currently interviewing people to fill the remaining few places to join Class VIII starting in October 2017.
If you are serious about becoming an outstanding leader of yourself and others then book your chance to have a 1 to 1 talk with me now using tis link:
Steve Neale
“Creator of the Limbic Performance System for Outstanding Leadership”
Psychologist, Executive Coach, EI Practitioner, Award Winning Trainer, International Author, Psychodynamic Therapist, Hypnotherapist, Mindfulness Instructor, International Speaker, Creator of the LPS, Creator of the Accredited Masters in High Performance Leadership
