Scaredy Cat Personified

Many opine we aren't born with fear but as we go through our lives, it seems we take less chances and become more cautious. It could be because we've experienced things that haven't gone well. It could be because we think we have more wisdom so not to make foolish choices. That voice in our head says; "let's not do that again!"

Experts have been studying this for years and in an article entitled "Decision Neuroscience: Why We Become More Cautious with Age", there is sound evidence which suggests at least part of the reason is physical. As we age, the levels of dopamine in our bodies declines. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter and a hormone. It plays a role in many important body functions, including movement, memory and pleasurable reward and motivation. We might be smart but our physiological makeup does have a say in the matter without our interference. 

Age and Ageing 

So that might point to why we rolled the dice at 20 and hesitated at 50. We were born with the ability to reason but we are also made up of chemical elements that don't ask for our input and can become our biggest foe.  

I've had to make a couple of pretty significant decisions in the last few years. One of them I belabored over for weeks. I had a similar situation happen almost two decades ago and I jumped at it. I did make the move again this time but I was aware of how I gave downside more weight than opportunity. 

Hormone levels and age may make us pause a bit longer or fear a bit more but here might be an exercise worth trying. Find something small you are thinking about right now. It could literally be something so insignificant, it might not even matter next week. Take five minutes and try and think of you a decade or two ago and make the decision through that lens. You might surprise yourself.

But I'm still not bungie jumping! 

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Four Words That Could Save Your Life

Perhaps it's just my experience, but I'm having a lot of conversations lately about life purpose. Those include family issues, ending relationships, money, careers, marriage, fear, and it seems many I know (me included) are asking a lot of deep and difficult questions about the choices they make in their life.

Next week, I'm speaking at TEDxGuelphU and the process has turned into much more than I ever imagined. I was working on my talk and mentioned it on Twitter. Suddenly the flood gates opened. Someone I had never met reached out and offered to help. His name is Jordan Axani and you can see his talk down below.

Dig Deeper

We had a three hour call last week and in short, he tore me to shreds. He reminded me that doing a TEDTalk wasn't like any of the workshops I had done or speaking gigs or radio work years ago. This was different. If you're not familiar, TED stands for technology, education, and design. And the reasons I visit it several times a week is to learn about people's stories and experiences.

As I worked on my talk, it was as if I was telling my story in the third person. A close friend has been kicking my butt for a long while now and between the two of them I feel like I'm in a boxing match that is my life!

Four Words

I've eluded to it a few times here on this site, but the past few years have been a roller coaster and I had thought they were affecting my life now. Was I wrong! It's been a lifetime of habits and actions that have affected now and if you dig deep enough you'll discover the same for you.

More practice, more digging, I'll let you know how it goes next week, but I've discovered four words that could save your life. I've been using them a lot lately and the reactions have been amazing.

Can you help me?


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