Tip-toeing Past Fear

Our internal fight-or-flight response is designed for our protection in times of danger.  When our brain senses fear, it suppresses our creativity and shuts down access to the thinking part of our brain – the cortex.  Scientists tell us that our fear response is controlled by a small, almond-shaped part of the brain that is located behind the frontal lobe, called the amygdala.

When the amygdala takes over, the cortex usually doesn’t function as normal.  At that time, the brain’s ability to go into self-protective lockdown mode can become a crippling liability.  It’s an experience we have all had to one degree or another – and it has a direct application in business.That’s because in business, entrepreneurs will unavoidably face a series or combination of challenges that they have never seen before.  Our brains naturally try to process these challenges as a series of questions – the answer to which is the solution to the problem.  But, when the question is too big for our experience, or too frightening from our perspective, the amygdala can kick in bringing disabling fear that makes us incapable of responding to the challenge.  I wonder how many businesses have failed as the result of that process.

Fortunately, through experience, training, guidance, and preparation we can learn to function in the face of fear.  With enough practice and preparation, some activities that we previously feared can become enjoyable.  Frankly, that is one of the benefits of having a business coach on your team.

By breaking the big, scary questions into a series of smaller questions, we can keep the amygdala under control and let the creative magic of our brain cortex store and process information the way it is meant to.  By turning over the small questions again and again, our brain is able to come up with creative solutions that pop up at times when we least expect it.  For me, I get my best ideas in the shower.

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