it goes by many names. Blair Singer calls it your “little voice.” Seth Godin calls it your “lizard brain.” i prefer to call it what it really is… your inner terrorist. and if you’re reading this and are human, you’ve heard this guy before…
you’ll never make it. you’ll make a fool out of yourself. people will laugh at you. you’re not good enough. in fact, you’re a hack and people will see you for what you are.
he starts talking whenever you get a bold, fresh idea, or when you’re about to do something challenging, or when you set out to achieve a worthwhile goal. he can get pretty loud and he’s awfully good at his job.
your inner terrorist is an asshole
terrorists seek to undermine a society by creating an environment of fear.
how many times have you kept yourself from doing something you thought would be cool, worthwhile, or were passionate about because of your inner terrorist? yeah, me too.
he’s such an asshole. unfortunately, he’s tough to kick out of the house. hard-wired into our brains. the good thing is, there’s some things you can do to fight back…
you’ll never succeed. all your dreams belong to me and they’re pretty foolish. everyone but you seems to know that.
STFU.
every single reason not to
a while back i wrote every reason under the sun why you should not travel because, when i was headed out to hike Thailand, folks voiced their reasons (read: fears) why i shouldn’t go. heck, i even had a few of my own.
i was in the midst of a mental jihad.
in that post, i wrote about a technique to battle back…
write down every single reason (fear) why you shouldn’t do something. basically, we’re letting the inner terrorist run loose. let him have his say but write it all down.
when he starts to quiet down, poke him in the ass and tell him to keep talking (he has plenty more to say, believe me).
eventually, you’re going to reach a point where you say to yourself, “this is ridiculous.” ahh, yes it is, isn’t it?
now you’re getting past the terrorist smoke screen. look at that list and ask yourself how true any of those statements are or what the real likelihood is that any of those things will actually happen. you’ll find none of the bullshit your terrorist was spouting off has any real merit.
next step is to write down everything you hope to gain by doing whatever it is. that right there is how you kick your terrorist back into his cave and you find the fuel to keep going.
perturbation: more than just a funny word
now, i’m no scientist. i don’t even play one on TV. but, i’m going to get nerdy on ya anyway.
perturbation is term used by labcoat jockeys to describe “a change in an object’s state due to external or internal stimuli” (talk nerdy to me). it’s also a fun word to say.
pertrubation is what causes your inner terrorist to run around yelling in tongues. interestingly, it’s a sure way to silence the bastard.
let’s take a look at the graphic i cooked up in my fake laboratory.
for us, perturbation occurs whenever we attempt to venture out of our comfort zone. the inner terrorist would rather have this zone be smaller than bigger so just about anything that challenges your comfort level is fair game for his attacks.
so, your desire to do something different is the stimuli that pushes against the boundary of your comfort zone. this causes perturbation. as you recall from your physics class, there’s an opposite reaction that has to occur. that reaction is your inner terrorist in attack mode. that bastard is going to fight as hard as he can to keep you in status quo.
sounds fun, don’t it? the good thing is that when you fight against your inner terrorist you actually increase the size of your comfort zone. the more you win the larger your comfort zone becomes and the less active your terrorist.
so, shut him up by doing things that cause you to perturbate.
your newfound freedom
your inner terrorist views it as his duty to keep you under his control in a prison of your own baseless fears. time to break free from his reign. do something crazy fuckin’ cool and live a life without constraints.
got any tips on defeating your inner terrorist? share them because this guy can get noisy.
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Great post! I get a clear picture of what it means to push your limits. I was just talking with my daughter about this very subject this morning – how to push beyond your comfort zone. Not so easy as it sounds but really worth it!
as children, i think we’re most susceptible to that voice in our head. our comfort zone is smaller because our experience is, too. smart move addressing it with your daughter.
and yeah, not as easy as it sounds… pushing that zone puts us in a state of agitation. how uncomfortable. why do you think some folks have an easier time moving into that state than others?
Hey Mark, great article with regards to living life and going for it. Experience is also key to making these sorts of decisions. If you have had positive results previously, its easier to counter your inner terrorist reassuring yourself that things will work out.
thanks, man. experience is definitely a key factor but i think you touched on something important with previous “positive results”. celebrate your wins. by taking a moment to step back and say “fuck, yeah! i did that.” you anchor home the thrill of stepping outside that comfort zone… making it easier to step up to your inner terrorist next time he comes hollering.