“To Wolpert, and many like-minded scientists, the tunicate is sending us an important message from our evolutionary past, telling us that if you do not need to move, you do not need a brain.”
-John Coates
A Lesson in General Wellness…
As an Amazon Affiliate it is policy to inform you that this is an advertisement. However, this is still a reflection of a great book that I’ve read many times over. I believe it would benefit any who may read it. You can find the link for it in my references located at the bottom of this page.
Burnout.
A while ago, I mentioned how a lack of exposure to hardship would lead to a chaotic mindset. I neglected to explain how overexposure to hardship could lead to the exact same thing. When building up momentum, stopping becomes harder to do. When at a maximum speed, critical analysis becomes impossible. This is because our brains tend to overheat under various circumstances. Once the brain gets too hot, common sense is the first thing that gets tossed aside.
Having a brain is exhausting. The brain takes approximately 1/5 of our daily energy requirement. This is because the brain needs the energy for its processing speed. It’s like a cheap computer and a lackluster engine fused together. The other all-important function of the brain is motor skills. We get so caught up in mental developments that we forget our body’s role in everything. We think with our bodies as well.
People talk about the body and brain as if they are separate from each other. This leads to a lack of understanding in our biology. There is no separation between mind and body. Your body is a vehicle for your brain. The brain learns from the body’s senses. The brain and body consistently communicate back and forth through hormones and emotions. This silent, non-stop communication is known as the feedback loop.
The Feedback loop.
The feedback loop isn’t just some woo-woo social media garbage. There’s actually some neuroscience and physiology behind it. Your physical state is tied directly to your mood. Your mood determines what emotions are most likely to rise. Your emotions determine your thoughts. Thoughts become actions that determine your physical state and mood. Through self-maintenance and controlled rationality, you could make this a positive process.
The type of feedback loop you experience determines the hormones you release; the steroid hormones in particular. During a positive feedback loop, dopamine is experienced first, followed by testosterone. Testosterone, the challenger steroid, signals for growth. This is accompanied by an exhilaration that allows you to take risks. During a negative feedback loop, adrenaline is felt first, followed by cortisol. Cortisol, the war steroid, redirects and conserves energy. This is accompanied by a braced feeling that makes you risk averse.
Your hormones with enough time don’t just affect the shape of your body. They can also affect the shape of your brain. This changes how you experience the world. Steroid hormones if overused are a detriment to you. Testosterone is meant to be released steadily at a natural pace. If overexposed to testosterone, your natural ability to produce it will cease. When steroids overheat the mind, a nasty accident is sure to follow. This is why, as a wellness advocate, I highly discourage steroid use unless you are a cancer patient or an elderly man.
Spiritual Fortitude.
As we age, our natural ability to produce testosterone decreases. Unfortunately, this is not the case with cortisol. We are free to worry until the day we die. Cortisol is meant to prepare us for damage. Under its full effect, we sleep less, we eat less, and nobody’s sexy. The energy you have is put towards survival only. You become avaricious and slowly start to wither, never moving unless forced. Unlike testosterone, cortisol’s main function is to break down the body to provide energy to the areas that matter. Cortisol eats away at your muscles and ceases organ function if the negative feedback persists for too long.
Regardless of which feedback loop you find yourself in, they each carry the possibility of overheating your brain. The feedback loop is a product of your instinct. Instinctive thought occurs before rational thought. Processing information takes time. Your instincts interfere constantly to save you those precious seconds. But it comes with a cost over a duration. When overheated, rational thought ceases entirely, and you become nothing more than desire and instinct. In other words, you become an animal.
What separated humanity from the rest of the animals was our ability to make nature work for us. We are quicker to go against nature than any other animal. This is how we’ve been able to survive extinction for so long. Our adaptability is unlike any other. Humans, through the tools and skills they master, change their instincts. The more capable you are, the more patient you become, and patience is the mark of spiritual fortitude.
Patience is an uncommon trait. It is replaced by a calm autopilot that malfunctions during times of crisis. To be patient is to allow wisdom time to catch up to you. The best of us can remain patient even in times of high-energy. Your favorite athletes do it all the time. You rarely ever see a professional athlete give it 100% in a match. To sustain their energy over the course of an entire season, the athletes must pace themselves. To pace yourself is to avoid burning yourself out.
Exhaustion is inevitable.
Like in weight training, the strength doesn’t come from the damage you do to your muscles. It comes from the rest period. Spiritual endurance is a product of many seasons of effort and recovery. We are often encouraged to go for broke when in pursuit of our goals. This is reckless, chaotic advice. You have to know when it’s time to reel it back in. To go ‘all-in’ is gambling terminology. You must realize the difference between gambling and taking a risk.
Taking a risk involves skill where gambling involves luck. To take a risk shows a love for the game, where gambling is hurrying to get things over with. When you sacrifice, it must not come at the price of your consistency. To go all-in and lose is to be taken out of the game. To take a risk and lose is research. You gain confidence with each risk you take. You get more desperate the longer you gamble. When the mind overheats, the difference between the two becomes blurred. Forgetting the difference between risk and gambling is a side-effect of a positive feedback loop going rouge.
A winning streak isn’t possible without establishing a positive feedback loop. But a winning streak isn’t sustainable without pacing yourself. ‘Keeping cool’ should carry a completely different meaning to you now. We must not forget to take that deep breath. Proper breathing technique is a pacing skill that improves the physical and spiritual stamina. Proper hydration is also an important factor in energy conservation. We must refrain from eating garbage that won’t fuel us properly. We can’t forget our body’s role in our overall development.
To be able to move is a blessing. Unfortunately, it is human nature not to appreciate what is abundant. Exercise is showing your body gratitude. It’s an excellent way to establish a positive feedback loop if you kick the day off with it. Exercise will eventually transfer into deeper sleep, keener focus, and better food choices. When you are out of shape, you are doing your brain a disservice.
Wellness Wheel.
Pace Yourself.
The condition of your environment will also have an effect on your feedback loop. Make sure to pick your sanctuaries wisely and never fail to maintain them. When falling back or retreating, make sure it is always in the direction of a sanctuary. When returning from a challenge, make sure your sanctuary isn’t just a place to relax. Your sanctuary must also be a place that refocuses you. Creating sanctuaries should be easy for a master, no matter where they go.
Some of us are so used to our automatic tools that we would be completely lost if forced into manual operation. We use our vehicles so much that we neglect our stamina. We use GPS so much that we have no sense of direction. Tools are supposed to enhance human instinct. But now, it’s starting to do the opposite. Now, we can live our entire lives on autopilot. I don’t want that for you.
Without a routine to cultivate challenge and recovery, thriving is not possible. It takes patience to improve your instinct. Without any patience at all, you damage yourself socially, financially, and spiritually. This makes you prone to the damaging physical and emotional effects of negative feedback loops. A lack of patience is indeed bad for your health. You are dangerous. You will forget your plans, and you should never be caught without a plan. Your strategy will remain at the front of your mind as long as you can keep yourself cool.
The hour between dog and wolf is a unique insight on the concept of risk through the lens of neurology and economics. it sounds difficult to wrap you head around but it’s broken down very well. It covers basically all the aspects of wellness and helps to inform us how even the most educated of us make the dumbest decisions. Make sure you check it out yourself so that you can get your own sense of it.
References and photos
The hour between dog and wolf – John Coates,
SpongeBob – Nickelodeon studios.