From "M", an actual proactive student of life, where my comments are in italics: (For those who need to learn what a proactive student looks like, note his process of questioning, coming up with some possible answers, using "critical thinking", willingness to make a 'mis-take", and being motivated to better his life by doing what it takes to learn what works and what doesn't work and then to install it in his life! See the site piece: How To Use Intuition Wisely, And Knowing It Is Useful But "Not Always" Accurate.)
Well, Keith, I read the information about intuition, and I would like to share some thoughts with you.
Mostly, I agree with the information, but here I see some “but”.
I agree that our brain in most cases tries to come up with a positive solution and with an optimistic prediction of the future because this is needed for our physical and psychological survival. When we “believe and hope” that, in the near future, things will be better than now, it helps us to run things and manage life challenges in the present. [While it is true that hope and belief provide a positive that helps balance the negatives, it is not true that the primitive lower brain does a very good job at running things nor on managing them. The higher brain is the one capable of the higher executive functions of deciding and planning, for without it we would live a very crude and rude life governed by simple primitive rules... See Brain 101 - Who And How To Manage. Never leave the monkeys in charge...]
I think if we would not have this mechanism [Amen!!!], we would quickly lose motivation for changes, development, and survival. [While there is a "mechanism", we need to learn how it works, how to work it, and then go about creating ways to use it for greater good for ourselves.]
Here you are dealing with a very complex subject, but also one that merely contains several simple pieces (and subsystems) that can be examined and tweaked individually to work better in and of themselves but also in combination. .
To be sure that we are operating from a map of reality, we need to look at each piece of the paragraph you wrote above and ask, as always, "is it true?", and "is it provably true?" (or did I make up an explanation that might not be true, despite cultural beliefs). (And maybe we have to ask "is it logically true", because some things simply must be deduced since we can't prove them.)
Our "brain" does not try (in terms of "intent" or even design) to come up with positive solutions or optimistic predictions. In a sense, it just does what it is programmed to do. There is no "intent" and we often are attributing to it the ability to have true agency and perspective. This is a little bit of a leap from our normal thinking, so I would refer you to read the summary, on the site, of The Believing Brain (and probably buy the book). Our brain has simply mechanically evolved for survival, always improving the machine so that the DNA survives. Once you understand sufficiently how the brain (machine) operates, one would note that it simply mechanically associates incoming inputs with what is relevant in the brain and then matches it to patterns that seem to have worked - and then it emits chemicals to get you to do the finally "chosen" approach - the chemicals are the "motivators" that (mechanically) cause action. (I suggest you read The Causal Chain For Behaviors, From The Primitive "Control" To True Management.)
Yes, "believe and hope" is what we think motivates us, but it is not the driver that we think it is. It is just a useful nice message that we conjure up and "communicate" to our primitive mind to offset the "threats" that the lower brain is responding to (generating negative chemicals that have us feel bad). You see, the master skill to acquire via the higher brain is that of discerning when something is not really a danger/threat - this is how you change your life, by changing the beliefs about what is true so that you eliminate 95++% of falsely perceived dangers and the fear process related to them. (I suggest that you read and master this process, perhaps starting with Threats And Fear - Differentiating As To What Is A Legitimate (Real) Threat.)
I agree that we cannot make decisions based on intuition and especially on feelings, because they lower our alertness and do not let us to make the right decision. “Pause – Plan wisely – Act slowly” is the way to make decisions. [Good] For the right decision we need to gather all information on the subject, and then based on the facts to make the decision. And here I see the first “but”, we cannot gather “all information” and analyze “all facts”, because there always will be something missed or that cannot be predictable. As you know, that there always is corrections in the plan (time, resources, unexpected situation and etc.) And this, though, brings up a second “but”.
Imagine, all gathered facts are right, and it seems logical that we need to act in that way, but something inside of you says to you: “Don’t do that!” or “Don’t go there!” or “Don’t deal with this person!”. How can we explain that by the higher brain, which makes decisions based mostly on facts? We can explain that it is our fear, our mistaken inner voice, our erroneous thoughts, or intuition. I don’t know there is a right answer to this question, but there is definitely something is …
[Great question!]. "Something inside you" is a pattern of neurological data that is associated with the matter at hand. In your conscious thinking it is pretty likely that you could have missed some fact (bit of data). Your massive memory in your primitive brain might then come up with something that is missing and there will be a feeling of discomfort of some sort (to get you to "listen up") as it "thinks" there is still danger or concern that should be handled to bring the machine back to full operating order (which is one of its primary jobs: Keeping Homeostasis).
Whether the information provided is true or not is another question. It is worth paying attention to, but the ultimate answer (and asker) is the higher brain. And the higher brain is the only entity that is good at discerning the facts and using the logic needed. Yes, again, intuition (a mechanical, not highly sophisticated compared to the higher brain) might have to come up with a possibly correct fact, but it is still the higher brain that does the examination of the facts and the decision making process (of whether they are right). There is no mysterious gremlin or entity that comes up with, though it does "seem" mysterious since we can't "see" it. The danger is that when we can't see something that we "make up" an explanation (as in The Believing Brain) and then believe it is true.
The point, again, is not to believe what is not yet proven to be true, whether it comes from another person or from one's "intuition" - remember "intuition" is just a very useful mechanical process that can be used as a "tool" to gather the necessary information. [One can, and at times, should, employ intuition by asking "what is my intuition about this?" Then, YOU, not the lower primitive brain, discern what is true or not true.]
Motivation is all chemical - and you can figure out and install in your life those mechanisms and beliefs that will alter the process. To have your life working well, you must first make sure your beliefs are true and workable. Don't stop short of making sure all major beliefs are corrected! Use The Beliefs Changing Process, if you want - follow the Belief Reconstruction Procedure link from that page.. (Remember, motivation is caused by chemicals of attraction and of safety seeking (from believed or actual threats - which is what we must lean the skill of discernment where we differentiate among the threats as to which are true or not and as to which are important enough to be concerned about).
No comments:
Post a Comment