Meet Your Lizard Brain

The brain is a complicated organ. An expert could tell you all about the difference between the frontal lobe and the thalamus, the cerebral cortex and the cerebellum. I am no such expert. So, I’ll explain it in the simplest terms.

The brain has two parts. I call them the Human Brain and the Lizard Brain. The Human Brain sets us apart from other species. It is our ability to plan, reason, and think critically. The Human Brain is a valuable asset.

Its alter ego is the Lizard Brain. Focused on instincts and survival, it reacts quickly and craves food, sleep, sex, shelter and comfort. Safety is its highest calling. The Lizard Brain is essential for our species to sustain life.

There is a downside to both parts of our brain. The Human Brain leads us to over-analyze a situation and spend too much time researching a decision rather than making one. The Lizard Brain is reactive rather than proactive and drives up stress and anger before we understand the full situation. In the middle is a sweet spot where we decide which brain to activate.

Today we’ll talk about the Lizard Brain.

Understanding how the Lizard Brain functions helps you recognize when it is taking control. A lion stalks you on the savannah and your instincts to seek safety keep you alive. But a long to-do list or a looming deadline can trigger the same response. If you don’t recognize the Lizard Brain is in control, that response turns into chronic stress, anxiety, anger, and so on. You look at that to-do list and instantly begin thinking, “There’s not enough time. How will I get it all done?” Stress levels rise. Panic sets in.

This same response happens throughout much of our lives. News replaying fighting politicians. Health concern. Parenting. Achieving work life balance. The list goes on and on.

It occurs because our Lizard Brain responds by taking instant control and causing us to believe that we are in danger so we can fight or flee. Both actions require a surge of adrenaline. And when we can’t fight or flee physically, it manifests as arguing, blaming, apathy, overwhelm and many other feelings we all struggle with.

When we activate the Human Brain, however, we can try on different perspectives for size and choose what feels right. It becomes a science experiment in exploring our thoughts and analyzing their usefulness in our life. Keep what works and toss the rest, regardless of how true they may be.

For example, that looming deadline might make your Lizard Brain freak but your Human Brain can choose, “I’ve met my deadlines before and I can do it again.” Or maybe even simply, “The deadline will require hard work and that’s ok”. Try those thoughts on and see how you feel. They are both are truer than, “There’s no way to meet this deadline” and both create far less stress.

Understanding these two parts of the brain is essential for all I will share later. I’ll talk about how to disrupt the Lizard Brain and how to motivate the Human Brain. I’ll share how my life has changed because of conscious thinking vs. instinctual thinking. You will find pieces that work and others that don’t. And along the way, our journey will be grand.

For now, the next first step is accepting this to be true. Examine your own life and look for places that you feel stressed and overwhelmed and sit with the feeling until you notice your thoughts. No need to judge or change anything right now. Simply observe.