Lesson 2: Your Brain Is Lying to You (Lovingly)
Your Brain Is Lying to You (Lovingly)
Your brain is not trying to help you succeed. It is trying to keep you alive. These are very different goals.
Your brain was built thousands of years ago when "that weird sound in the bushes" meant something might eat you. Today, that same system activates when you have to present in class. Your brain cannot tell the difference between a lion and a group project. To it, both are threats.
The Stories We Tell
Your brain fills in gaps with stories. Someone walks past you without saying hi — your brain immediately writes a novel: they are mad at me, I said something wrong, everyone hates me, I will die alone. In reality they probably just had earbuds in.
Leaders learn to separate facts from stories. The fact: they walked past. The story: everything else. Get good at spotting which is which.
Fixed vs. Growth Mindset
Fixed mindset: "I am just not a math person." (Translation: I tried once, it was hard, I quit and made it my identity.)
Growth mindset: "I am not good at math YET." (One word difference. Completely different life.)
Every skill you have right now — reading, talking, walking — you were once terrible at. You did not declare yourself "not a walking person." You fell down 200 times and got up 201. That is all growth mindset is.
Try This Today
- Catch yourself saying "I am just not good at ___" and add the word "yet"
- Write down one story your brain told you this week that turned out to be wrong
- Name one thing you are bad at that you actually want to get better at