Finding the Fight
Huberman's Microsuck
I just finished listening to Andrew Huberman’s latest episode of the Huberman Lab and felt compelled to share it here. The episode on Tenacity and Will Power both reinforced what I already know and taught me new facts about brain chemistry, specifically the function and plasticity of the anterior midsingulate cortex. When we talk about will power, we most often refer to the work of Baumeister and his radishes and cookies experiment, which led to the conclusion that will power is a limited resource. I’ve often said that by the end of the day I’ve made so many decisions, have controlled my behavior in so many ways, that of course I want french fries and a glass of wine, and of course, to skip the gym. Huberman calls on much newer research which identifies the anterior midsingulate cortex, or the AMC, as a portion of the brain which is the seat of tenacity and can be grown by resistance, by moving through the hard things versus away from them. The idea is that when we consistently perform activities which we either don’t want to do but know are good for us, or don’t perform activities which we want to do but we know are not good for us, we can grow the AMC which has significant neuroplasticity.
Neuroscience and Tarot, seemingly dissimilar, really connect here.
Apathy and Action
Throughout the deck we find cards which represent psychological states, spiritual states, calls for action or rest, reminders to tap into what truth we know, to not ignore the signs the cards give us because they are certainly there if we can allow ourselves to see them.
When we are feeling apathetic, burned out or depressed, we may know intellectually that the state is transitory, but spiritually it feels like it will last forever, and the idea of growing some new brain muscle seems absurd. But, according to Huberman, it is just this ability to sit in the sad state, to get through it to the other side, which may in fact grow the AMC, the tenacity hub. You don’t even know you are being tenacious, you’re just getting by. But by sitting in the pain, not escaping it with something negative, this part of your brain may become more plastic, even physically bigger, and will help you on the other side of the crisis.
That being said, the cards which relate most to tenacity and will power are The Chariot and Strength. These cards come up when we either have enough or possibly not enough of the opposite of apathy: passion, enthusiasm, inspiration.
The Chariot as Personal Power
The Chariot represents the energy to resist what is easy and to engage our personal power to do what is hard, but is ultimately rewarding, yes rewarding to our actual brain chemistry because it helps our AMC to grow. We all have people in our lives who seem to effortlessly say no to the cookie, the second glass of wine, the couch when they know they need to hit the gym. I know these people but can’t say I’m good friends with too many of them. These people have bigger AMC’s—they may have developed them over time, or perhaps their healthy lifestyles prevented the brain shrinkage that comes with age for most. But Huberman points out that the research shows, you can’t just maintain a healthy lifestyle for a strong AMC, it requires that you continually do just a little more. If I’m exhausting you bear with me. I’m not supporting the idea of continual striving and improvement, which is nice but not always available. Sometimes rest is what we need to build resilience. But the idea is you use your personal power to resist just a little, that which feels difficult, and do the extra set of kettlebell lifts, or don’t drink on the night you’d like that gin and tonic, or do an extra lesson of Duolingo. If it comes easily then it won’t help you build your tenacity. Tenacity requires moving toward the storm, as our young Charioteer is doing.
You Are Stronger Than You Think You Are
The Strength card was originally called Fortitude. I love this idea within the context of building will power and tenacity. Fortitude is courage in the face of pain or adversity (Oxford). Our figure above is a badass woman who can break a stone pillar but can also tame a lion, who in this depiction doesn’t look too vicious. Again I don’t want you to think I am endorsing yang energy 24/7. I am not. What I am endorsing is recognizing what Huberman calls “microsucks.” little things that are mildly unpleasant and require fortitude to move through, but not major enough to cause psychological distress, which will in fact cause your autonomic nervous system to get out of balance, which never helps anyone. I think we all have the strength and personal power to endure a few microsucks, and in doing so we grow our AMC and thus our tenacity for not only what we moved through but other areas in our lives.
I obviously found this episode to be interesting and inspirational. I’ve been putting off reengaging with an exercise program for the past month. I’ll start back at the gym this week. I made a carrot soup last night which required only healthy ingredients. I wanted to add some bacon. Adding bacon wouldn’t have been bad, and would have enhanced the flavor of the soup, but I also know my nutrition really fell of toward the end of last week, and I wanted to eat clean. I’m studying Spanish on Duolingo getting ready for a trip to Guatemala. It’s pretty easy, but the app also says to write down all the phrases in a lesson, which I haven’t been doing. I’ll write down a few today. I’m going to embrace some microsucks. What will you do?
Reminder
If you would still like to join the Tarot Circle next Sunday at 9am PST, send me a message haven’t already. I’ll send out an e mail with the zoom link on Thursday. Please share with friends if you like. This series of Tarot Circle will be available to free subscribers as well as paid.