Not all may be as it seems…
Facebook reminded me of a memory from October 2017.
My son’s first month at nursery school.
Translation of the memory:
“So the first 6 weeks of my son in the village nursery school.
first 2 days: shortened, adaption days (only up until lunch)
The next 3 days in school
1 day with mummy after a planned doctor’s appointment
Another 2 days at school
The next 2 days at home, ill
2 weeks on holiday
3 days at school
2 days at home, ill
Next week, to be safe, a week with grandma to get over his illness (losing his voice, slightly raised temperature)
All in all, 8 whole days at school out of a possible 30 (or 20 without the holiday)
What are they doing to him?”
The funny thing is, I don’t remember it at all. In fact, my recollection is diametrically opposite: I thought he had adapted pretty well and it wasn’t until December that the dreaded lurgy got advantage of him.
Basically, my brain had been playing games with me and had spared me the stress of a difficult period. That’s what the brain does.
The brain demands a lot of energy. It consumes about 20% of our basal metabolic rate, that is the amount of energy our body needs in a resting state to keep our bodily functions going.
In order not to exhaust us, the brain applies certain automated programmes. If it had to process all the data that it is confronted with on a daily basis we would me exhausted. Thus it picks and chooses only the sensory information that our conscious mind requests or fit with our points of view or emotional mood. That’s how, amongst other things, cognitive bias comes about.
No more babies!
In fact, one theory claims that our ability to soften or blunt unpleasant episodes played a role in our evolutionary success: if women had vivid memories of birth pains then few would go through it again. However, a hormonal reaction in women’s bodies after the birth of a child prompt the brain to forget the worst.
That’s why a session with a professional coach isn’t always just a pleasant and inspiring conversation. A coach is able to conjure up a new perspective that the brain has hidden from you. Cognitive dissonance can occur, which is never pleasant, but this experience can shift your perception in order to become aware of another view of your reality, the part your brain had been protecting you from.
Providing you really want to get down to the bare bones of your topic and disrupt your automatised thought patterns, it can be critical to undergo this exercise.
So, beware of your brain!
It’s not doing it to spite you, it’s simply trying to protect you and save your energy for more topical things. But you can’t always rely on it for objectivity!
Has your brain ever tricked you?
If you liked this article have a look at tips on How to get out of a rut.
Or how to Visualise your goal.
Get a dose of Pooh wisdom in this hectic world.
Get a different perspective! The first session is always commitment-free.
