Self-Confidence: A Fascinating New Evolutionary Theory
KANSAS CITY, MO. (PRWEB) September 24, 2018 -- After 35 years of studying confidence, Clinical Psychologist Bernard J.Sullivan, Ph.D. discovered that lack of confidence isn’t caused by neglect, rejection, or criticism in childhood or by mistakes and failures. And succeeding or thinking positively doesn’t build confidence nor does being loved or smart or strong. Because the unintelligent, primitive part of our brain containing genuine, genetic confidence, and the system that suppresses it can’t be influenced by what we know or think.
“Confidence Beyond Measure: The Science of Believing in Yourself” reveals that a primordial brain system generating inborn self-confidence was absolutely necessary for early humans to climb their pecking order to claim the most food, the warmest part of the cave, and everything else. Today, this emotional brain system automatically erupts in response to every challenge and opportunity, sending a raw, physical, delicious, confidence exploding through people. Dr. Sullivan named this most powerful drive alpha confidence.
Most people can’t consciously feel alpha confidence because early human tribes in which everyone felt too important to be a follower and schemed and fought to be chief were weakened by hatred, vengeance, and violence. Humans have walked upright through 350,000 generations—in which these conflict-ridden, uncooperative tribes would again and again be extinguished by cooperative tribes. If most members inherited brain systems that suppressed their confidence with self-criticism and self-doubt, they would feel endangered and cling together as loyal worker bees following a leader and would survive more often to pass on these suppressive genes.
So, when alpha confidence causes people to feel, “Nothing-can-stop-me, I-can-do-this,” instantly these feelings trigger an inborn repressive system that makes them feel I’m-not-that-smart, -or-strong, -and-what-if-they-don’t-like-me. It secretly creates an invisible straitjacket of self-doubt, self-criticism, and other negative feelings to bury instinctive confidence before they can consciously feel it. So self-criticism, self-doubt, and other negative feelings aren’t weaknesses. These diminishing feelings made ancestral tribes much more likely to survive in their dangerous world by decreasing too-many-chiefs competitiveness and increasing productive worker-bee cooperation.
Bernard J. Sullivan, Ph.D. has been a licensed psychologist in private practice for 41 years. He has published in major psychology journals. He is a member of the National Register of Psychologists and the American Psychological Association.
Bernard J Sullivan PhD, Bernard J Sullivan Phd, http://www.BernardSullivanPhD.com, +1 (913) 451-2843, [email protected]
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