Bots, Brains, and the Human Struggle: Staying Out of Our Own Way

Alright, Humans—gather round! Today, we’re going to talk about how to stop getting in the way of our own goals. Because, let’s be honest, between stress, existential dread, and the occasional ill-advised deep dive into WebMD, we are exhausting ourselves.?

Meanwhile, AI is just out here, thinking away, no emotional baggage, no panic attacks at 2 AM, and certainly no impulse purchases of self-help books we’ll never read. This is not the formula for us to keep our edge!

Staying Out of Our Own Way

These days, I spend about as much time interacting with bots as I do humans. And unexpectedly, I’ve grown to envy them. They just get to run around "thinking," all up in their prefrontal lobe (if they had one), without a care in the world. No existential crises. No worrying about war, politics, money, relationships, hunger, love, or being eaten by a tiger. Must be nice.

I, on the other hand, spend my days frantically switching between my prefrontal lobe (thinking brain) and my limbic system (emotion brain) like a squirrel on an espresso bender. Juggling bills, kids, health, that client call that went sideways, and that nagging feeling that my boss secretly thinks I’m an idiot. And that’s on a good day (and CBT credentials in hand). Luckily, I don’t have to be aware of my brainstem functions daily—except for when I get dizzy from not drinking enough water. Whoops.

And it’s not just me. I bear witness to my colleagues, friends, and loved ones doing the same high-stakes brain shuffle.?

Some pause, take a beat, and explore the root cause of what they’re witnessing before responding. They approach with curiosity and compassion, seeking to understand before jumping in.?

Others…well, they get stuck in their limbic system, reacting on instinct, all fight-flight-freeze, wreaking havoc as they go.

This week, stress drop-kicked a lot of us (myself included) straight into survival mode, and wow, was it counterproductive to literally everything we wanted to accomplish. So much wasted energy, sigh.?

So, after I got over myself (eventually), I started thinking: In a world where we’re increasingly outsourcing ourselves to AI agents—even our ability to listen (which is an article for another day)—how can we keep our human edge? How do we stop getting in the way of our own goals? Here’s where I landed…

Step One: Revisit the Basics of the Human Brain

The brain has three key players:

1. Prefrontal Lobe (Human Brain): The rational, thinking part. Home to logic, planning, and self-control. Also known as the place I aspire to spend most of my time.
2. Limbic System (Mammal Brain): The emotional center. The reason I go all Dark Phoenix when I am stressed instead of coolly handling problems like a well-trained bot.
3. Brainstem (Ancient Brain): Handles basic survival functions. Thankfully, it does its thing without my input, but dehydration occasionally reminds me it exists.

When we’re overwhelmed, we shift into survival mode—great if you're trying to escape a bear, not so great if you’re just trying to write an email without sounding like you’ve lost your last neuron.

Step Two: Create a Guide to Stay Out of Survival Mode

To show up as the best versions of ourselves (read: not panicked (sometimes mean) messes), we need to keep our prefrontal cortex online. Here’s how:

• Name it to tame it. Feeling anxious? Stressed? Annoyed? Just identifying the emotion helps shift control back to your rational brain. Bonus points if you name it something ridiculous like "Sir Overreacts-a-Lot."
• Breathe like you mean it. Box breathing (inhale for 4, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4) literally resets your nervous system. It’s free, effective, and won’t clutter your inbox with marketing emails.
• Hydrate. Your brain runs on water. Being dehydrated by even 2% can tank cognition and mood. Basically, your brain throws a tantrum like a toddler who missed snack time.
• Move. Walking, stretching, or just standing up for a bit can help shake off stress and bring your thinking brain back online. Your ancestors ran from predators—surely, you can take a lap around your desk.
• Perspective check. Ask yourself: Is this an actual emergency, or does it just feel like one? Spoiler: It usually just feels like one. Unless you're actually on fire. Then, yeah, it’s an emergency.

The Human Edge in an AI World

AI is great at thinking, but it’s never had a bad day, fallen in love, or worried about whether it left the oven on. Our human-ness—our ability to connect, empathize, and adapt—is our superpower. But only if we can keep our survival brain from hijacking the mission.

So, as we navigate a world increasingly powered by bots, let’s do what we do best: Think, feel, and stay hydrated.

(For further proof that a dysregulated brain is your worst enemy, check out this excellent video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPyzPH8sB2A&list=PLiUrrIiqidTVghUckAJjCZMYO84ahohMv)