Do you ever realise that you’re sad or nervous for no apparent cause and you’re not sure why?
It happens all the time.
We may not even be aware that it is happening to us at times.
We go through our days without recognising what is going on at our core, and then we accept that this is how we are.
Same individual without any transformation or changes in life, which leads to the same person, same life, and, eventually, boredom.
Do you want to be trapped in the same paradox?
You don’t, I know. As a result, we must understand how the Reptilian brain works.
As previously stated, a trigger is the source of your sudden anxiety or sadness.
Every day, we are all exposed to a variety of triggers that induce us to react in a certain way.
In this way, the key to our reaction and behaviour is the trigger.
Any memory, experience, or event that elicits a strong emotional response, independent of your current state, is an emotional trigger.
As a result, we must be aware of emotional triggers and be able to recognise them.
But how do you do it?
The reptilian brain plays a crucial role here.
The reptilian brain, often known as the lizard brain, is the most primitive portion of the human brain.
You will have greater control over what you do with these triggers if you begin to know the triggers that activate your reptilian brain. You will have a better understanding of your own behaviour if you better comprehend the triggers that your reptilian brain is exposed to. So, instead of subconsciously following your reptilian brain’s primordial feelings, you’ll be more aware of what’s going on inside you, giving you the opportunity to establish a pattern interrupt. This implies you’ll have more control over your lizard brain and, as a result, over your life.
This will undoubtedly lead to your transformation into a superhuman.
Let us refresh our knowledge of brain structure in general before diving into the intricacies of the Reptilian brain.
Neurons are billions of nerve cells that make up the human brain. Electrical signals are used by neurons to communicate with one another. Glial cells are specialised cells found in the brain. The neurons are supported by glial cells.
The form of the brain differs from person to person.
The brain is shaped like a spherical in general. The brain has a surface area of around 1.8 square metres. The brain has a volume of approximately 1150 cubic centimetres.
The human brain is thought to have around 100 billion neurons.
The famous Triune brain theory, established by Paul MacLean,an American physician and neuroscientist, presented probable explanations for human behaviour and emotional outburst in his book, The Triune Brain in Evolution, is probably the best-known model for understanding the anatomy of the brain in relation to evolutionary history.
The Triune Brain theory states that the human brain is made up of three distinct brains, according to Paul MacLean. Within the human brain, each of them has its unique function and role. Those three minds are not only dissimilar, but they also compete with one another!
Even though scientists now know that some of the details may be incorrect, the notion remains valuable. There are three distinct brain regions in this Triune Brain model:
- The primitive brain, also known as the basal ganglia, is commonly referred to as the reptilian brain since it resembles the brain of… you guessed it… reptiles.
- The limbic brain is the second brain region.
The limbic system is younger than the primal system.
The paleomammalian brain is another name for it. This section of the mammalian brain, which includes the hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus, is responsible for subconscious emotions like fear, joy, fighting, and sexual behaviour.
- The mammalian neocortex is the youngest region of the brain.
Because it separates humans from animals, the mammalian cortex is an important element of
the mammalian brain.
Humans can speak and think thanks to the neomammalian brain.
We now have the power to control our fight or flight response rather than relying on instinct.
The reptile portion of the brain, as you may know, is the earliest section of the brain.
It is in charge of survival instincts. Its major goal is to keep you out of pain.
This is where we make our decisions.
The cerebellum is located at the base of the brain and links directly to the spinal cord,forming the reptile complex, or “lizard brain.”
Is it a reptilian or a lizard brain?
“What do we have in common with a lizard?” you might think.
All living species, after all, must execute basic duties in order to survive.
Reflexive behaviours, muscle control, balance, respiration, heartbeat, feeding/digestion, and reproduction are all processes that originate in this lowest, most primordial region of the brain.
Feeding, fighting, escape, and reproduction are all controlled by this reptilian brain area.
In this sense, the function of this portion of our brain is similar to that of reptiles and other animals’ forebrains.
This is why we name this area of our brain the reptilian brain.
Now that you’ve learned about the reptilian brain, increasing your understanding of how it works will help you improve your emotional and behavioural management skills, allowing you to become a superhuman.
Who doesn’t want to be superhuman, after all?
Don’t you think so?
Of course, you always do on a subconscious level.
Let’s have a look at how we can do it.
1) Make An Emotional Connection
Because it does not affect the cognitive regions of the brain at first, what drives our decision-making is primarily subconscious.
This means that it’s typical for ourselves or opponents to have no idea why they want particular products or to be unaware of what causes them pain.
Trigger the emotional pain point of yourself or a loved one to help bring the pain point into awareness and drive the action you want to take.
Positive emotions can be useful as well, albeit the reptilian brain prefers negative feelings.
2) Speak To The Listener’s Pain
The reptilian brain is preoccupied with avoiding discomfort as a strategy of ensuring the body’s and genes’ survival. It has a lot to do with acquiring pleasure.
So, if you want to activate the reptilian brain, you should appeal to pain rather than pleasure.
When you want to activate your reptilian brain or the reptilian brains of your stakeholders, this is the way to go.
To get the reptilian brain’s attention, start by talking about the discomfort you want to avoid.
If you have the audience’s attention, you may begin discussing the advantages of the solution you’re providing.
Isn’t it great to want to become superhuman so that you can entice your audience to follow you?
3) Use contrast to emphasise the value of something.
Black and white messages are best understood by the reptilian brain: good or bad, fight or flight, pain or pleasure. So, if you want to appeal to the reptile brain, send messages in black and white. The stronger the contrast, the more noticeable you are. This can be combined with the reptilian brain’s basic pain avoidance instinct. If you can portray your value proposition as a way to relieve pain and contrast it with other solutions in which the agony persists or worsens, you will quickly get the attention of your audience’s lizard brain.
Before and After Pictures are frequently seen in advertisements for various diet medicines.
They contrast the uncomfortable circumstance of having an unhealthy body with excessive fat with the desirable outcome of having a healthy and trim body.
Because of the appeal to the misery of being overweight and the contrast between the before and after situations, this works quite well for the reptile brain.
If you want to ensure that you reach your objectives, you should utilise mental contrasting to enlist the
help of your reptile brain.
4) Appeal to the self-centred nature of the reptilian brain
As previously stated, the reptilian brain is solely responsible for the reptilian’s survival.
It is self-centred by nature.
You can take advantage of this by appealing to the lizard brain’s function the next time you communicate with someone.
Put your listener at the centre of the conversation and talk about his favourite topic: himself.
People are often curious about “What’s in it for me?” therefore make it a point to state it right at the
start of your conversation or presentation.
Otherwise, if you take too long to get to the “What’s in it for me” part, folks will become bored and
distracted, and you will lose their attention.
The greatest method to catch your audience’s attention is to swiftly answer the “What’s in it for me” question, as this will satisfy their reptile brain.
5) If you want to make an impression, concentrate on the beginning and end.
The brain of a reptile is primarily concerned with its own survival. This implies it will always be on the lookout for changes in order to assess threats. If nothing changes, though, the lizard brain will conserve energy and quit paying attention. So, if you want to make an impression when presenting a presentation, include your main point at the beginning and finish.
Because the lizard brain enjoys repetition, you should deliver your main message at both the beginning
and finish of your presentation.
And, if you combine this with the first reptile brain hack, you’ll notice that in this important message,
you must specify the pain first and the cure to that suffering last.
Of course, the main question is what will you say in the middle of the talk.
If there are essential points to be made, then you must awaken the reptilian brain.
Of course, this isn’t accomplished by monotonously prolonging your chat or presentation.
No, you must build a broken state, often known as a pattern interrupt such that your audience’s reptile brain is immediately alerted to a shift that is occurring.
Then it will begin to pay attention once more.
6) Use visual metaphors to engage your audience’s reptile brain.
Because the optic nerve is intimately related to the reptile brain, humans are visual organisms,
as previously stated.
As a result, visual input has the greatest influence (“A picture is worth a thousand words”).
This is also a reptile brain survival mechanism: it reacts far faster to visual input than to any other.
So now you know why a PowerPoint slide with simple bullet points will lose your audience’s focus, whereas a slide with only one picture will hold their attention.
As a result, make every effort to include visual representations of your essential themes in your presentation. As previously stated, if it is a concrete visual, it is considerably more effective. However, you may not be able to use visuals in some circumstances. For instance, while you’re on the phone with someone. Or when you have a meeting that you haven’t been able to prepare for. Even in these situations, the visual brain can be used. Simply said, imagine the vision in words. Begin by saying, “Picture this…” and then visualising the image you want.
7) Demonstrate tangibility of value
When presenting a proposal for a new project, for example, you must make your value proposition as real
as possible because the reptilian brain only interprets visual imagery and does not grasp words.
Most of the tasks we perform every day have become almost invisible in today’s information-overloaded digital
environment.
With the exception of a few new computer screens, all milestones were unseen.
After all, we are visual creatures who believe what we see.
Because making initiatives tangible is not always possible, most projects rely on dashboards and progress
reports to keep them visible.
However, if you can come up with a unique technique to make a project’s worth concrete, you’ll have a
significant advantage over programmes that merely create dashboards.
Conclusion:
So, you can blame your reptilian brain every time you act irrationally, right?
It’s possible.
Because the reptilian brain is obsessive and compulsive, and it thinks in pictures, symbols, and shapes instead of words.
It is easily scary and prevents us from doing what we want to accomplish, such as attempting new activities or
Worst of all, the neo-cortex is unable to activate while it is always in control and battling for our existence.
By this point, you’ve figured out how to recognise and control your reptilian brain’s triggers.
Would you think anyone could stop you from becoming a superhuman after you completely understand how to
control your reptilian brain by recognising the triggers that impact it and then deferring your reaction, preferably
until the next day?
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