Lizard brain” refers to the oldest part of the brain, the brain stem, responsible for primitive survival instincts such as aggression and fear (“flight or fight”), whereas the limbic system is responsible for, among other things, our emotional bonding to other creatures–other humans such as family members and friends,
Steven Pressfield describes it as the resistance. The resistance is the voice in the back of our head telling us to back off, be careful, go slow, compromise. The resistance is writer’s block and putting jitters and every project that ever shipped late because people couldn’t stay on the same page long enough to get something out the door.
It illustrates the universal force that acts against human creativity. It was first described in his non-fiction book The War of Art and elaborated in the follow-up books Do The Work and Turning Pro and in other essays.
The amygdala ties emotion and meaning to all stimuli from the outside world, not just the threatening ones. That’s not the kind of feature we’d want to overcome or change; we can see the wisdom in Bernbach’s advice with this fuller understanding in mind.
When it looks for moving threats, it’s not considering the danger of that movement as it relates to the community. It wants to stay alive, and that means escaping predators and catching prey. When it makes emotionally-linked memories, it’s another version of self-centeredness. It’s not evaluating how others will feel, or the effects of the event on anyone else. It remembers how it felt when this thing happened to it.
Steven says that overcoming resistance is more important than talent. Steve says that many people have talent, but few put in the work and follow-through. If you’re struggling with self-doubt, procrastination, or just plain self-sabotage, it’s time to face your inner resistance once and for all.
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