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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Steve Peters
Read between
June 14 - November 5, 2018
the frontal, limbic and parietal, are called the Human, the Chimp and the Computer.
Effectively there are two beings in your head! It is important to grasp that only one of these beings is you, the Human.
The Chimp is the emotional machine that we all possess. It thinks independently from us and can make decisions.
You are not responsible for the nature of your Chimp but you are responsible for managing it.
you didn’t choose your Chimp, it was given to you and you need to accept it.
learn to live with your Chimp
You also need to understand your Human and not muddle up your Human with your Chimp.
The Computer stores information that the Chimp or Human has put into it.
‘development time’ is time specifically set aside that is dedicated to reflecting on how you are managing yourself.
you need to look back over the last 24 hours and reflect on how you managed it.
learning to recognise the difference between yourself and your Chimp and who is in control at any point in time.
the Chimp is far stronger than you are,
The Chimp interprets this information with feelings and impressions.
uses emotional thinking to put things together and to work out what is happening and form a plan of action.
makes guesses and fills in detail by assumptions that are typically based on a hunch, paranoid fe...
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The Human, on the other hand, will interpret information by searching for the facts and establishing the truth.
using logical thinking
disagree, the Chimp is the most powerful and therefore gets control of your thoughts and actions.
The message always goes to the Chimp first (this is one of the rules of how the brain works).
Chimps like to work on feelings and often start their conversations with ‘But I feel…’ or ‘I don’t feel like…’
fast to reach a conclusion
typically twists the facts to fit its opinion and is very unreasonable and irrational if challenged.
will not discuss shades of grey.
When you are thinking with your Chimp you tend to see only one possibility.
The Chimp needs to know that it is safe, so it is vigilant and continually looks for danger and therefore is prone to paranoia.
When the Chimp has an opinion it will become even more paranoid about defending it.
overreact to situations and fuel them with high and intense emotion.
typically jumps to conclusions and fills in missing details with anything it chooses.
Chimps judge others quickly and without mercy.
establishing the facts.
Humans try to establish the truth and then base their beliefs on the truth.
remain open-minded and have the ability to change their mind and to see someone else’s point of view.
Ironically, rational thinking is often prompted by the Chimp, which activates the Human.
Wanting to understand how things came about and what was happening at the time is a Human trait.
Humans accept that they may be wrong, and reflect on this, becoming more open to suggestions.
The purpose and agenda of the Chimp is survival.
The Human’s agenda is to achieve self-fulfilment.
This is why some people who are in a loving relationship and wish to remain monogamous find it almost impossible to remain faithful.
the biggest challenge for the individual Human is to live with an animal within that is determined to live by the laws of the jungle and to use extremely powerful drives and instincts to fulfil its own agenda.
Anxiety typically occurs when you don’t make a decision.
As drives are necessary for survival, their compelling nature makes them difficult to resist.
the drive to eat is extremely powerful and your Chimp will probably gorge itself if food is available because there may be no guarantee when the next meal will be.
female chimpanzees are more prone to having stronger feeding drives than males, possibly because they are normally pregnant or nursing a youngster.
male and female Humans do NOT differ very much at all.
many of the emotional features within themselves that they may not like are not coming from them but being imposed on them by their Chimp.
female inner Chimps are frequently lacking in confidence and wary.
quick to become anxious and therefore avoid decision-making for fear of getting it wrong.
The Human male and Human female are extremely similar but are being influenced by the inner Chimp, which is more typically male or female in character.
It can be your best friend or your worst enemy. This is The Chimp Paradox.
Recognise who is in charge: the Human or the Chimp.
