Dooley Noted: 4/3/2016
I had a beautiful lunch with two fabulously smart people.
Our conversation turned to learning, and we spoke of what inhibits learning.
My friend Emily said she worked with very stressed-out children, who found it difficult to learn new things.
My Jonathan said, “Well, that makes sense. Give someone a rattlesnake and ask them to say the alphabet backwards. All they can think about is that snake they’re holding!”
That analogy gave me a beautiful picture of the limbic system, and how it works.
If the brain’s limbic system is trying to memorize or learn, it has trouble doing so in stressful or emotional situations.
The limbic system is in charge of homeostasis, so stress occupies the system. This makes learning challenging.
The limbic system is also in charge of emotions. If it’s occupied with emotional waves, learning is again challenging.
If you want to focus on learning, you must down-regulate the stressful and emotional responses.
Meditate. Learn to do it right.
Focus. Learn to control the emotions before they control you.
Find teachers and coaches that can help you do this, so you can learn to do it on your own.
Otherwise, keep holding the rattlesnake, seeing what you can learn.
As always, it’s your call.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley
