Time Traveling is Expensive and Should be Avoided at All Costs
I’ve seen the future and it’s not great. In fact, I just got back and I have to say, all of my worst fears came true.
At least that’s what I perceived after another day of struggling with the momentous task of bringing an idea to life.
This post isn’t about the tactical steps of how to bridge to validate your product idea. There are plenty of posts on the internet on how to do that...
Implement the Lean Methodology
Create fake door marketing tests
Whip up a low-fi MVP to test your value prop
Do some research and write a business case
Step by step guide on how to find product market fit
This post is about exploring why, despite all this useful guidance and instruction, launching a new idea is still a near-impossible task. It’s about what happens when we spin out and get lost in our thoughts. It’s about what happens when the panic sets in as we feel like we’re wasting our precious time and should be productive. And above all else, it’s about time travel.
The Scenario
Picture this. You are dutifully working on bringing your idea to life. Completing one task after the next until you hit a stumbling block. A bad day. Doubt creeps in. We begin to judge ourselves.
While sitting at our desk we leave the present moment and begin to time travel. We’re shot to the past to relive the guilty feeling of past times we’ve spent procrastinating. Just to quickly slingshot into the future to live out the embarrassment of failing at your new project.
We try to shake it off and get back to work But that’s impossible at this point because it’s too late. You’re firmly in the grips of an entrepreneurial death spiral. Sound familiar?
Lay off, Estonia. We’re trying!
It’s important to understand what’s happening in our brains so we can make sense of how to break out from this type of unproductive internal conflict. You see, our brains are hardwired to continually scan for threats. It’s was to our evolutionary benefit when we were surviving in the wild, but in this day in age, it can work against us and cause more harm than good.
Dr. Joseph Annibali provides a useful metaphor when trying to understand how our mind works and this survival instinct. In his book, Reclaim Your Brain: How to Calm Your Thoughts, Heal Your Mind, and Bring Your Life Back Under Control he likens our minds to a computer’s operating system and the survival instinct to its virus scanning software.
“It scans each website, download, and email for threats. When the antivirus software works well, it’s invisible -- working in the background, holding things up for just a few milliseconds as it scans for unwanted intruders. However, imagine that the antivirus program is not functioning well; in that case, it might flag nearly every website, email, and document as a potential threat, even when no threat is there. The flow of your work on your computer would be slowed down immensely. Eventually, the computer might become paralyzed, and with it your ability to work. That’s what happens when the error-detection circuits in your brain are overactive. You become slowed, sometimes to the point of paralysis, needing to check and recheck and yet check again.”
The Science
When a threat is detected - this time in the form of procrastination, or lack of productivity, the amygdala is activated. This almond shaped cluster of the brain is responsible for regulating fear, anxiety, and aggression - among other things. Blood begins to flow more heavily to this area and it begins to expand. That’s right, the fear part of our brain actually grows LARGER as we start to panic. Our body is physically reshaping, and responding to a threat. Except this threat is one that we’ve completely fabricated in our mind.
These type of false threats that happen during time travel of an unchecked mind is common. But that doesn’t mean it’s an easy mental exercise. In fact, it takes up to 20-25% more energy than when the brain is at rest.
MRI of a healthy human with eyes open at rest.
MRI of a healthy human during time travel. Notice the increased blood flow to the frontal cortex, aka time travel HQ.
Not all neurons are created equal. The neurons that are located in our frontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for our time traveling tendencies, are the most expensive of all the neurons. It takes 30% of the brain’s glucose to power this region of the brain. Unfortunately, this is the same area that allows you to be productive towards launching your new idea. Your brain is at conflict with itself and it’s exhausting you past the point of being productive.
To be clear, you can’t both physically worry about being unproductive and be productive at the same time. Let that sink in.
The Action Plan
The next time you find yourself in this mental deadlock, consider taking these steps to break free from the fear and start being productive again.
Be aware
Realize you’re in it. Easier said than done. We’re genetically designed to scan for threats so trying to avoid that would be futile. Instead, we need to become aware of the thoughts in our mind and see if they’re serving us in the current moment. This will take regular practice. One of the best ways I’ve found is through mindfulness meditation. Simply put, it teaches your conscious brain to observe your own thoughts without judgment.
Break Free
Come back to the present. Remember the reason we’re doing this is to budget those precious neurons and energy. Stop time traveling. When you observe your self reliving the past or projecting the future, bring your thoughts back to the present.
How? An easy way to do this is to observe your own body. Your breath. Any pains or discomfort you may be feeling in the moment. This isn’t to change anything about your environment, but retake hold of your conscious mind again before refocusing. You’ll find that once you’re rooted back in the present, it simplifies your thoughts almost immediately. A burden is lifted.
Focus
With a clear mind and an arsenal of neurons at your disposal, make the list of things you need to accomplish when working on your idea. This is a great time to get back to the other links I provided above about bringing an idea to life. Stay in the moment. Stay clear-headed. Once you have a list of action items, choose one to get done that day and do it. Simple as that.
Throughout all of this, it’s easy to get down on yourself. Time traveling is a regular part of the human experience so be kind to yourself. Just be sure to respect those neurons and spend them on something that benefits you.
