Never Mind Your Mind The Never Mind Your Mind series is about not taking our thoughts so seriously,
Unless of course they are helpful.
I want to give you four of the many insights in the full Never Mind Your Mind course.
Today,
These will be brief,
But essential for developing a more compassionate relationship with our minds.
1.
Our brains evolved for survival,
Not happiness The human brain has been evolving for millions of years,
And for the vast majority of that time,
Survival was its primary concern.
Our Stone Age ancestors lived in an environment filled with predators,
Scarce resources,
And constant physical threats.
Their brains adapted to prioritise safety and detect danger,
Which meant paying close attention to anything that could potentially harm them.
Fast forward to today,
And while our external environment has changed dramatically for the better,
Our brains are still wired for this survival mode.
This explains why we're often hyper-focused on perceived threats,
Even when they're as minor as a critical email or the way somebody said something to us.
Our minds have not yet caught up with the relative safety and comfort of modern life.
2.
The mind's two primary goals,
Safety and comfort Our brains have evolved in this particular way as mentioned above,
And as Dr.
Russ Harris says,
Our minds have therefore been designed for two reasons,
Number one,
To keep us safe,
Number two,
To avoid discomfort.
For our ancestors,
These goals were essential for staying alive.
Avoiding predators,
Conserving energy and seeking shelter were key survival strategies.
In the modern world,
However,
These same mechanisms can lead to excessive worrying,
Procrastinating or avoidance of challenges.
Here are two examples.
Worrying about the future,
The mind tries to prepare us for potential dangers by imagining worst-case scenarios.
While this may have helped early humans anticipate threats,
It often causes unnecessary stress to our daily lives.
Avoiding discomfort.
Our minds tell us to sidestep situations that may feel unpleasant,
Like a tough conversation or a challenging task.
The benefit here is only temporary relief.
Insight number three.
The negativity bias.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the mind is its negativity bias.
This evolutionary feature discussed above developed to keep us safe.
Early humans who were hyper-aware of potential dangers,
Like predators or hostile tribes,
Were more likely to survive and pass on their genes.
Today,
This bias manifests as a tendency to dwell on problems,
Mistakes or perceived threats.
For instance,
If you receive ten compliments but one criticism,
The criticism is likely to stick with you.
Understanding this bias is the first step towards overcoming it.
Instead of blaming ourselves for focusing on the negative,
We can recognise it's just the mind doing its job.
And finally,
Insight number four.
Our capacity for compassion for the Stone Age mind.
Recognising that our brains are still operating with these Stone Age thinking patterns can help us cultivate self-compassion.
Our unhelpful thoughts are not a sign of personal failures,
They are the natural result of a mind doing its job to protect us.
What might it be like to pause and say something like,
Thank you mind for trying to keep me safe,
I know you're just doing your job.
This small act of gratitude can shift our relationship with our thoughts,
Creating more space for self-kindness and less struggle.
Thank you for being part of the change.
