Emotions are at the heart of our daily lives, influencing how we behave, often without us even realizing it. To better navigate our emotions, it’s helpful to understand how different parts of our brain work together (or sometimes, against each other). Let’s take a dive into our three brains: the reptile brain, the emotional brain, and the logical brain. The Reptile Brain: Our Primitive Survival Mode Imagine yourself 250 million years ago, living in a cave. Your main focus would be survival—breathing, eating, and avoiding danger. That’s where the reptile brain comes in. This ancient part of our brain handles the basics like heart rate and breathing, all without us thinking about it. Back then, this allowed our ancestors to concentrate on hunting and gathering without worrying about every heartbeat. Even today, the reptile brain operates below our conscious awareness, which can make our reactions seem almost compulsive at times. The Emotional Brain: The Seat of Our Feelings Fast forward 100 million years, and our ancestors developed the emotional brain. This part of the brain stores our emotional memories and gives meaning to our feelings. Remember that time you felt embarrassed about something you did years ago? That’s your emotional brain at work. The Logical Brain: Our Rational Thinker Jump to around two to three million years ago, and here comes the logical brain. This part of the brain is responsible for higher-level thinking, language, and self-awareness. It’s what makes us human and sets us apart from other animals. The logical brain helps us reflect on our reactions. For example, after reading that rude email, you might think, “Why am I so upset? It’s just an email.” This higher-level thinking can help calm down the fight or flight response triggered by the emotional brain. How Our Brains Process Emotions Our emotional and logical brains often work together, but they don’t always get the information at the same time. The emotional brain gets the data first and reacts quickly to potential threats. Meanwhile, the logical brain takes a bit longer to catch up, which is why our emotions can sometimes overpower our rational thoughts. Think about those days when you snap at a colleague over a minor issue. That’s your emotional brain jumping to conclusions before your logical brain has time to process what’s happening. Managing Emotion-Driven Impulses Reacting impulsively to our emotions can cause problems. The emotional brain doesn’t always have all the information, leading to assumptions and snap judgments that we often regret later. These impulsive reactions can harm relationships and our self-esteem. So, how can we prevent these knee-jerk reactions? 1. Stay Mindful Notice when emotions start to bubble up. Give yourself a moment to breathe and create a space between the trigger and your response. This space allows you to choose how to react. 2. Question Your Emotions Ask yourself, “What is this feeling trying to tell me?” or “What needs are behind this emotion?” This helps diffuse the intensity and gives you a clearer perspective. 3. Practice Meditation Deep, intentional breathing can shut off the fight or flight response and help you stay calm and collected. Conclusion Understanding how our three brains work together can help us manage our emotions more effectively. By staying mindful, questioning our emotions, and practicing meditation, we can improve our emotional intelligence and make better decisions. For more leadership development tips, follow my LinkedIn or check out my podcast, Next-Gen Leaders. Until next time, keep striving, growing, and leading with purpose.
