1. Am I Safe?
This brain network is wired for speed, not accuracy.
Responds to:
The SEQUENTIAL BRAIN
Safety, boundaries, predictability, success, order, routine, rote, relaxation
Does not understand:
Language, relationships, teams, new ideas, compassion, responsibility
This is the core survival brain and the home of the Fight, Flight or Freeze response. This network manages everything you do without thinking about it – your heart beat, your lungs breathing. This network does not differentiate between a physical threat or a mental threat. So the stress of an attacking boss at work can be the equivalent of being chased by a hostile dog – it prompts the same chemical reactions in your brain.
Your survival chemicals kick in and significantly slow down the synaptic connections in your brain, in effect preventing the signal from being carried higher up in your brain where thinking could conflict with or override your instinctive reactions for survival. In effect, when this network recognizes danger, it prevents you from thinking and pushes you to act on your impulses, such as anger and fear.
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Q. What are we doing to create emotional and intellectual boundaries?
Q. Do people understand how their job contributes to the company’s success or failure?
Q. Can they describe what success looks like?
Q. How do our employees know they are taking a risk?
