Check Yourself - Your Response Could Affect Generations
You better believe size matters!
What justifies our actions enough to commit violence or to go off on a rant of swear words aimed at someone? Or any reaction severe enough to end a relationship?
This week I was in conversation with a client about “temptations.” There are multiple mentions of “temptation” in holy scriptures, and what I’m talking about isn’t far off. What I’m describing are those moments when we have the option to do what is right but the temptation to do what is not. In Momentum speak, they’re times we have a choice to be at the effect of our circumstances or at cause in the face of them.
Rabbit hole alert…
I’m not talking about those (hopefully rare) instances when our safety is actually threatened. I’m referring to emotional moments of perceived threat only — when we feel offended, disrespected or unfairly treated.
We call these moments core value violations. Our lives are not in actual danger, but our bodies don’t know the difference, thanks to that reptilian brain part called the amygdala. This is the “fight or flight” center, and strangely enough, the bigger the amygdala, the greater the chance of behavioral disorder. Size matters!
This is shown in a 2020 research article that notes an enlarged amygdala is caused by the combination of depression and anxiety while simultaneously shrinking the brain’s memory centers. Another study tells how a “larger volume amygdala” can be caused by added stress pregnant women experience at certain developmental stages of gestation.
Our fundamental this week is Always Do Your Best.
I assert that if we respond as victims, we catalyze that anxiety and stress. If we respond as owners, we reduce that stress and, according to the first study, become more able to do so in the future. It’s like strengthening a muscle, but this time we want the muscle to get smaller. I’m not sure how they measure the size of amygdalae, but many sources tell us that meditation can shrink this emotion center and give us better access to rational thought.
Let’s go back to the idea of temptations.
As detrimental as victim mentality can be, it is a juicy temptation. If you are a man, pregnant woman or other, there is a HUGE payoff to playing the victim, but we don’t always think about the cost of things like inflammation of basal ganglia parts. Who doesn’t relish the allure of obfuscating responsibility or the joy of being right when your nemesis is wrong? Or the satisfaction of bloodying the nose of some jerk who had it coming?
What if being accountable for our response choices became more and more of the normal practice instead of falling to the temptation of abuse or default reaction? How much impact would our behavior have on the next generation? …or evolution for everyone?
Be excellent to each other.
- Bill S. Preston, Esq., Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure
~ Brett
Fundamental of the Week #5: ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST
Develop the practice of doing your best each day. As it becomes a habit, what constitutes your best will change and improve over time.
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