Dissolving the Driver to Take More Successful Life Decisions

Are you in charge of the choices you make in your life? Are you driving to your preferred destination and enjoying the view? What if I told you it’s possible your Sat Nav could have faulty programming? Would you want to upgrade your software to ensure it’s not limiting your life?

Our brains can process an incredible 11 million bits of information every second, but our conscious minds can only handle 40 to 50 bits per second. So, our brains sometimes take mental shortcuts, known as heuristics, to make decisions quickly and efficiently. Advertisers use this science to get us to buy more of what we don’t need.

Heuristic shortcuts allow us to navigate the endless information we encounter daily without becoming overwhelmed.

The human brain is a wonder of nature, a supercomputer. This functionality enables us to achieve incredible things and is necessary for survival. However, we have biases, and our brain function is heavily influenced by what has been stored. 

We rely on experience data inputs to perceive life and other people. This has serious consequences on how we approach and navigate our lives and our future choices.

An influenced brain

Without the ability to identify old patterns, some experiences can naturally lead to insecurity in the present moment. My brain was influenced by the early passing of my dad, impacting me in several ways:

• Heightened activity in the amygdala can lead to increased anxiety, vigilance, and sensitivity.
• Chronic stress and grief can compromise the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for regulating emotions and executive functions, leading to a dysregulated HPA axis.
• The hippocampus, which is involved in forming new memories and retrieving old ones, can be affected by prolonged stress and trauma.

This may sound worrying, but the brain also has an amazing capacity for neuroplasticity. It can reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout your life. We can adapt and change our response to experiences, overcoming the negative impacts of early adverse experiences.

Positivity from adversity

Difficult experiences also shape our compassion and personality. Increased exposure to adversity develops resilience and helps us live a deeper, more meaningful life. It also promotes appreciation, living with more gratitude and enjoyment for life.

Living life with the breaks on?

Let’s look at examples of how negative experiences may distort our perceptions and drive our actions:

• Focussing on potential threats rather than fully enjoying the moment.
• Not prioritizing what is important and missed opportunities because of the inability to accurately evaluate risks and benefits.
• Unfulfilled potential by expecting and reinforcing negative outcomes rather than applying rational assessment to decisions.
• Overexertion and stress from striving for unattainable standards due to a fear of failure.
• Unprocessed emotions lead to impulsive decisions, avoidance, defiance, and conflict with others.
• Defensive and avoiding people and situations that lead to deeper connections, trust, and opportunities for growth.
• Avoiding people interactions leads to separation, isolation and missing the benefits of trusted relationships.
• Negative self-perceptions underestimate our own abilities, wrongly interpret what others think of us, and limit self-love.
• Addictions and choices to escape the pain from unresolved thoughts.
• Unhealthy dependency and decisions based on others’ needs and approval rather than personal values or goals.
• Impulsivity, recklessness, or aggressive decisions to counteract feelings of inadequacy or injustice.

Upgrade your SatNav operating system

If our Sat Nav is off, and something else is driving, we are unlikely to enjoy the journey and never get to our true destination. Negative experiences can create deep-seated biases and coping mechanisms that shape our decision-making process.

Deep self-examination and reflection are more important than ever, yet few people do it. Keep a daily journal of your negative thought patterns to identify how experiences have shaped an incorrect perception of yourself or your situation. My free 7 Facets Framework Workbook covers seven areas of limiting beliefs in detail.

Recognize what is in the past. Every day, we start fresh. We can wipe the slate clean and fully embrace the present moment. Nothing else exists. The truth of life is that it’s full of pure possibility. Don’t let that possibility be weighted towards false beliefs and negative outcomes.

Once we identify mental adaptations and get out of our own way, we will improve our lives.  We can attempt to dissolve this false driver of our actions.

Wishing you well,
Howard

"I don't know what I don't know, and I'm always a work in progress."