A Lizard Rules Your World

Whether or not you realize it, you have a lizard that lives inside your brain and rules your world.

The most primitive part of our brain is called the amygdala. We share this part of our brain with our lizard pals. The amygdala broadcasts survival-related fears to keep lizards alive in the world.

These survival-related fears fall into two categories: lack and attack.

A lizard’s lack fears help him ensure he’ll search for food if it seems to be in short supply. His attack fears keep him safe from predators.

However, a human’s lack fears induce incessant worry and stress when the stock market drops and we panic about our retirement (even if it’s 20 years away). Our attack fears cause us to replay conversations with others where they implied that we’re looking a little pudgy. You see, in these cases, we aren’t actually lacking anything, nor are we being physically attacked, but the fear response is the same as a lizard’s.

This lizard response is what causes us to jump when someone surprises us. It causes us to hoard stuff that we don’t need. In most cases our life isn’t in danger--we just act as if it is.

Think about your life for a moment.

How do your lack fears show up? Do you worry about money, even if you have a steady paycheck? Do you eat extra when you’re out to dinner, because you’re paying for it anyway?

How do attack fears show up in your life? Are you on-edge when you present in front of a large group? Do you take offense when someone makes a negative comment about you? Are you afraid to get really creative because it might not turn out perfectly?

Every time one of these lack or attack fears show up, you’re letting your lizard rule your world.

What do you do about it?

Notice that it’s your lizard talking. Thank it for alerting you to a potential threat. Then use your neocortex (the part of our brain that understands logic and makes humans so unique) to rationalize with your lizard.

You can decide who rules: your lizard or you, the more evolved one.