01:30 A few episodes ago I talked about the difference between your hot and cold executive function, and i had some great feedback from that episode so i will pop a link to that in the show notes if you'd like to go back and listen. But today i want to dive deeper into what's going on when your hot executive function is in charge Your executive function is the part of your brain that gets involved when the stakes feel high or when you're doing something that feels emotionally charged and because of that it isn't always helpful when it comes to getting things done. But here's the kicker, It thinks its being helpful! Your brain is always wired to keep you safe and sometimes that might mean keeping you small and keeping you stuck where you are because your subconscious knows that you're safe where you are, it's comfortable there. And it doesn't like discomfort and it truly believes that stepping outside of the status quo spells danger
02:18 And that is not an option, so your subconscious does its best to keep you where you are. In practice that can look like procrastination and not starting the thing that means a lot to you! So let's just take a moment to think about the tasks that you've been putting off for the longest... ...and I am willing to bet some of those will be connected with things you care about most And because they mean so much, it could be that your hot executive function is registering those things as a threat. So let's imagine for example that you want to write a book You've been saying you want to write a book for years and yet it still hasn't happened – you have not written a book! You've written plenty of other things… emails to your list posts for social media shopping lists but still no book...so it can't be that you're incapable of writing can it? There must be something else going on
03:03 Could it be that writing a book runs the risk of you being judged? It runs the risk of you failing. What if it's no good, what if nobody buys it or you could be afraid of the success that might happen when you've written your book what if it catapults you into the limelight what if suddenly you have so many clients queuing up to work with you that you can't keep up So there can be so much fear surrounding this kind of thing we don't even realize is there The dream of writing a book feels good doesn't it right but the minute you start there's a risk That that dream is going to be stomped on or it won't be what you expect. And so by not taking action, you're keeping that dream alive and avoiding the potential discomfort and the potential risk of doing the thing. It doesn't mean that you're lazy it just means your subconscious is preventing you from the discomfort that it perceives as dangerous So does that make sense? If your subconscious thinks something's going to cause harm perhaps even threaten your very identity as someone who can write a book
03:59 It'll kick you into avoidance and procrastination mode, and you won't be aware of that on a conscious level. And it will be very frustrating! But all that is happening is your subconscious believes that starting the thing will make you feel anxious, inadequate exposed... Insert whatever negative feeling here....and you can avoid that feeling by doing something else instead And because that avoidance works in the short term, it removes that discomfort. That then reinforces the behaviour of avoidance again this is all happening subconsciously and it can be really hard to break free break out of that cycle so have a think about the things you've been putting off Is there some significant emotional weight attached like
