I’ve spoken a little here before about managing our Chimp, and the estimable Steve Peters’ ‘Chimp management’ mind model. I’m returning to it now to provide a summary of the opening unit of the accompanying handbook, ‘A Path through the Jungle’, and a flavour of what the model is all about.
The model and programme give us an understanding of how the mind works and how to get the best out of ourselves and others, with the ultimate goal of developing robustness and resilience.
I’ll begin here by sketching a short-hand version of how our minds work in the chimp management model.
Firstly
Our mind functions in two different ways:
a) it uses inbuilt drives to keep the body alive and to produce the next generation. These drives trigger actions such as eating, finding a mate, establishing a territory or finding a secure place to live, and are fixed in us from birth. If we don’t fulfil drives, we can begin to feel uncomfortable.
b) it perceives, interprets and interacts with the world around it, and can do so by using either instincts or by learning.
Instincts are inbuilt automatic reactions to given stimuli, e.g. fight, flight or freeze is an instinctive, immediate, reaction to a threat. It can help us to survive and stay safe. We use this instinct in our day-to-day lives.
Alternatively , rather than using instincts to react to situations, we can also interact with the world by learning a response.
This ‘dichotomy’ can present us with a problem when it comes to learning how to interpret and interact with our experiences then, as we have two very different systems in our minds trying to do this, and form a plan of action/how to respond.
In addition, we have 2 systems within our minds, interacting with the world. We have
✨ an emotionally-based system, which is reactive, impulsive and outside of our direct control, and acts immediately. It uses emotions as its basis for thinking and learning
✨ a rationally-based system that works with for example executive functioning, using logic, organisational skills and perspective. This system uses logic as its basis for thinking and learning.
Each system can be influenced by the other.
Nature has programmed our minds to use drives and instincts. The way to understand and manage the mind is to accept and work with them, and then learn how to manage these 2 systems that help us to make sense of our worlds. Managing them most effectively requires us to establish a good balance between them, so that they’re integrated and adaptable and work well together. We mustn’t allow one to dominate, ignore or exclude the other.
Secondly
We have 3 teams within the mind putting into practice all of the above.
We can influence it, but this team is not within our control. It can run our lives, and acts without our permission.
It stores emotional memory.
(This is you). We have total control over this system and can choose how to work with it.
It stores factual memory.
The two teams usually go/work together, so we’ll be able to recall details of what happened, and how we felt about it. However, they can work independently: for example, when we get emotional about something and can’t explain why, or equally we don’t get emotional when we might expect to do so.
This team function in our minds is very similar to that of a computer: we can programme it by inputting data – i.e. beliefs and behaviours – that we find constructive. We then interrogate it when we’re faced with a situation, and it advises the Chimp and Human when we’re trying to make a decision of what to do/how to act.
As per the graphic, we put beliefs and behaviours into the Computer, and it gives us advice back, based on what we put in there in the first place. It’s important to make sure the advice and beliefs fed back to the Human and Chimp are helpful (not always the case of course!).
It stores factual and emotional beliefs or memory from both the Human and Chimp, and reminds or advises them before they act.
It can act and think automatically then by being programmed by either the Human or Chimp.
Re-programming/tidying up our Computer
We don’t always think and behave in ways that are helpful for us, and checking what we’ve stored in our Computer and addressing any unhelpful beliefs or behaviours our Human or Chimp has put there gives us a chance to review, remove, replace and/or help to deal with them.
Stored beliefs or behaviours are referred to as Autopilots, Gremlins and Goblins.
🚀Autopilots: Helpful or constructive automatic behaviours or beliefs.
🚀Gremlins: Unhelpful or destructive automatic behaviours or beliefs that can be removed.
🚀Goblins: Unhelpful or destructive automatic behaviours or beliefs that are extremely resistant to being removed (we need to recognise when to stop trying to remove them, and learn how to manage them).
Some examples:
- ‘I’ll try my best, and that’s good enough’ is a constructive Autopilot
- ‘I always fail at everything’ is an unhelpful Gremlin
- ‘I’m unlovable’ can be a Goblin
It can be useful for us to check regularly to see whether we have any Gremlins or Goblins stored in our Computers.
I’ve summarised here the main points of the first unit of ‘A Path through the Jungle’.
To conclude, here’s an exercise from the end of the unit that you might like to try.
This exercise involves finding ‘the real you’, if you weren’t hijacked by the Chimp or the Computer – the ‘Machine’ – when you’d be able to present your Human to the world, a pleasant, reasonable person. You are separate to the Machine, and managing the Machine is what the model is all about.
So, when we worry unnecessarily or get emotional at an inappropriate time or to an inappropriate degree, it’s not you that’s doing this, but your machine.
Finding the real you exercise: Take a blank piece of paper and write down the characteristics of the ideal or perfect person that you would like to be. For example, you might write:
Calm
Consistent
Caring
Compassionate
Kind
Thoughtful
When you’re done, write your name above the list, as you’ve described the real you, who you really are, as this is how you would present to the world, if your Chimp and Computer weren’t interfering or influencing you.
This is quite an empowering message, as it shows who we really are, and can present to the world, if we can manage our Chimp and Computer. It won’t always be easy of course, and will take commitment and practice. Where’s there’s life, there’s hope though!
I hope that you might have found the enclosed interesting and/or thought-provoking.
Do get in touch if you’d like a word about any of it. You can pick up a copy of ‘A Path through the Jungle’ at Amazon for £9.99 currently. And if you’d like to know more about my associated coaching programme, it’s here
That’s it for now. I’ll be in touch again before too long.
Until then, take care.
Best wishes
Marc