“I never told you it would easy. I just told you it would be worth it.”
Day 12 Morning Scorecard and Dopamine Self-Reflection:
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: Priorities we don’t Prioritize
In today's world, our organic needs are being quickly replaced by synthetic alternatives that our poisoning our daily lives. For the brain to work properly it needs the basics: food, water, air, and sleep. However, if we are filling our lives with junk calories, sugary drinks, and little sleep our brains will pay the price. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs clearly outlines what we need to have a successful life and if we follow this path we get to what Maslow called "self-actualization." Maslow goes on to state that the top of the pyramid is only achieved if the bottom layers are properly taken care of. To become this "best version of ourselves" we need to make sure our foundations are strong. If we are tempted by the quick fixes of substances, smartphones, and social media then these hollow versions of "needs" will ultimately leave us feeling empty. The only way to the top is through self-reflection, hard work, and taking the higher road. It may not be instant gratification but filling your life with complex relationships and hard-fought accomplishments allows your brain to learn and become resilient.
MASLOWS HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
FACT: Maslow’s research calculated that only 35% of people make it to the final stage of the pyramid “self-actualization”, which has been known as the “optimal-self” stage.
TAKEAWAY: People struggle so much with the bottom four stages, due to circumstances or hollow distractions that they never become the best version of themselves.
False Tagging Theory
When you first hear any piece of information the brain's default programming is to believe that information. It might be only for a split second, but the brain is working off "rules of thumb" that protect it "most of the time." For instance, if someone yells "gun" it's safer from an evolutionary perspective to run for cover then dismiss the remark as false. Obviously, in life, there will be plenty of false alarms but the brain only has to be right 1% of the time to save you from death. It would be nice if this function of the brain only applied to your physical safety, but in reality, it applies across the board. This means that if your frustrated boss calls you incompetent or your mother chastises you for being lazy, your brain's first reaction will be to believe this information as true. Even if you know a negative comment to be false, if someone repeats it often enough your brain will tag it as true. To conceptualize this you have to remember that our brains are outdated and we are programmed to survive in a tribal setting. Believing what others around us believed was paramount to remaining part of the tribe and avoiding rejection. This doesn't mean we believe everything we hear, it just means that your brain is set to change its mind only after enough evidence has been presented to the contrary or enough people tell you otherwise.
FACT: If 5 people on a busy city street are looking upwards, 10% of people will look up to see what's happening. If 40 people are looking upwards, 80% of people will look up to see what's happening, even if nothing is there to see.
TAKEAWAY: Humans are the most social species on the planet, we look to "social proof" to determine our next course of action.
“To love is to risk not being loved in return,
To live is to risk dying,
To hope is to risk despair,
To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.”