Insight #3

Years ago, I was watering my yard, and when I looked over the back fence to water the trees on the slope, I noticed some movement in the far corner. At first, it looked like a dog, and my initial response was, “Don’t be scared. I’m just watering.” It took a quick look at me, then literally disappeared between some bent wrought iron bars in the fence. All of this took less than 5 seconds.

As my brain processed this brief encounter, I began to realize I had seen a coyote, not a dog. It was a rare day time encounter and that’s why it was a little confusing and difficult to process quickly. But as a few more seconds passed, I also realized the casual glance it had given me before it scooted wasn’t that of a scared animal worried that I might hurt hm, but it was rather a predator’s stare as he sized me up as a possible meal. When he determined I was too big to attack, he was gone in a flash.

The encounter was a little confusing for me at first because I was surprised to see an animal, then I didn’t understand why it left so fast, then I realized it gave me a “look” that I have hardly ever seen, a look that I literally had to process with another part of my brain, all in the span of about 10 seconds. Once I processed it though, there was no mistaking that this was a predator and I was potential prey, all realized from a quick glance that triggered something primal in my mind, something our ancient ancestors used to survive in a dangerous and unforgiving world.

That brief encounter reminded me that the “fight or flight” part of our primitive brain is still alive and well, even in a modern world where the predator’s stare is rarely seen. However, because our primitive brain still exists, it still works overtime to protect us from perceived dangers, real or not.

Short of saving our lives, the feedback we receive from our primitive brains is primarily worrisome and protective, and generally, not legitimate. It tries to protect us from uncertainty by enticing us to think of all the things that could go wrong in any give situation. It reduces our confidence by painting the future as scary and risky. It wants to keep us in our comfort zones where events and outcomes are familiar. In short, it takes effort and emotional energy for other parts of our brains to push past the primitive brain messaging if we want to evolve and grow in new ways.

The next time you find yourself worrying about the outcome of something, or concerned about the future, or scared that there won’t be enough, or that something could go wrong, take a deep breath and search your thoughts to determine if those are legitimate concerns rooted in experience and correct information, or if the concern has no basis in rational thought, and is just our primitive brain concocting stuff for us to worry about.

What protected us once as a species, in a much more dangerous world, is now something that can add false fear to our lives if we allow it to. We know it’s there, and we know its purpose, so we just need to be aware of it and consciously process its feedback. In other words, we need to know if we are truly receiving a predator’s stare, or if we are just imagining a scary outcome that most likely will never occur.

Baxter Scruggs

No matter what your definition of success is, or where you find yourself on this journey called life, these thirty stories will provide a fresh perspective, and help you rethink those beliefs that limit your goals, dreams and aspirations.