![\"Squirrel](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1467\/2023\/01\/pexels-altaf-shah-5934274.jpg\")
Squirrel Brain<\/strong><\/h2>\nAccording to National Today<\/a><\/span>, National Squirrel Appreciation Day was originally created by Christy Hargrove\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\u201con January 21 [as] a day to learn about and celebrate the world\u2019s cutest rodents.\u201d <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\nBut it doesn\u2019t feel very cute when you get caught in the headlights and Squirrel Brain nearly gives you a seizure, trying to figure out which way to go. Everyone has had these moments, similar to the Buddhist<\/a> concept of Monkey Mind<\/a><\/span>. Monkey Mind is, basically, scattered thought. It\u2019s when, no matter how hard you try, you find it hard to focus.<\/p>\nSquirrel Brain goes a step further.<\/strong> Where Monkey Mind is more like Attention Deficit Disorder, Squirrel Brain emerges out of a sense of threat. The fight, flight, or freeze reflex kicks in, but your brain can\u2019t decide which thing to do. At best, Squirrel Mind can ruin your day. At worst, it can get you squished.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Squirrels are Nuts!<\/strong><\/h2>\nAnother distinctive of Squirrel Mind is the inability to decide what to do with resources. <\/strong>Out of a sense of threat, squirrels bury, unbury, and rebury their nuts on an obsessive level. National Today<\/a><\/span> says that \u2026<\/p>\n\u201cSquirrels can lose as much as 25% of their cached nuts to thieves! And the largest perpetrator of such crimes are other squirrels.\u201d <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\nFurther, the website says:<\/p>\n
\u201cSquirrels fail to recover up to 74% of the nuts they buried. And most of the nuts they dig up, are nuts that they steal from other squirrels!\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\nSquirrel brain comes from a perceived threat\u2014not just from oncoming cars, but from loss of resources. <\/strong>An example of Squirrel Brain would be the pandemic panic that we witnessed (and participated in) at the beginning of COVID. Everybody rushed to Costco and bought pallets of toilet paper. We buried so many nuts\u2014bottles of hand sanitizer\u2014that it\u2019s going to expire before we can use it all. This manufactured scarcity convinced others that they, too, needed to hoard resources or steal them from others. Our societal Squirrel Brain caused a lot of problems.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Theory of the One Thing<\/strong><\/h2>\nWhether it\u2019s a real or perceived threat, sometimes everyone acts out of Squirrel Brain. <\/strong>What are some ways to counteract this feeling of disconnectedness in the face of fear? In Getting Rid of Squirrel-Brain: How to Work Smarter Not Harder<\/a><\/span>, <\/em>Yellow Parachute discusses the Theory of the One Thing. Basically, when you feel like a nut, focus! <\/em>Instead of scrambling from here to there trying to get a hundred things done at once, stop and focus on one thing. Do that one thing well, and then move on.<\/p>\n
\u201con January 21 [as] a day to learn about and celebrate the world\u2019s cutest rodents.\u201d <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
But it doesn\u2019t feel very cute when you get caught in the headlights and Squirrel Brain nearly gives you a seizure, trying to figure out which way to go. Everyone has had these moments, similar to the Buddhist<\/a> concept of Monkey Mind<\/a><\/span>. Monkey Mind is, basically, scattered thought. It\u2019s when, no matter how hard you try, you find it hard to focus.<\/p>\n
Squirrel Brain goes a step further.<\/strong> Where Monkey Mind is more like Attention Deficit Disorder, Squirrel Brain emerges out of a sense of threat. The fight, flight, or freeze reflex kicks in, but your brain can\u2019t decide which thing to do. At best, Squirrel Mind can ruin your day. At worst, it can get you squished.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Squirrels are Nuts!<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Another distinctive of Squirrel Mind is the inability to decide what to do with resources. <\/strong>Out of a sense of threat, squirrels bury, unbury, and rebury their nuts on an obsessive level. National Today<\/a><\/span> says that \u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cSquirrels can lose as much as 25% of their cached nuts to thieves! And the largest perpetrator of such crimes are other squirrels.\u201d <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Further, the website says:<\/p>\n
\u201cSquirrels fail to recover up to 74% of the nuts they buried. And most of the nuts they dig up, are nuts that they steal from other squirrels!\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Squirrel brain comes from a perceived threat\u2014not just from oncoming cars, but from loss of resources. <\/strong>An example of Squirrel Brain would be the pandemic panic that we witnessed (and participated in) at the beginning of COVID. Everybody rushed to Costco and bought pallets of toilet paper. We buried so many nuts\u2014bottles of hand sanitizer\u2014that it\u2019s going to expire before we can use it all. This manufactured scarcity convinced others that they, too, needed to hoard resources or steal them from others. Our societal Squirrel Brain caused a lot of problems.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
The Theory of the One Thing<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Whether it\u2019s a real or perceived threat, sometimes everyone acts out of Squirrel Brain. <\/strong>What are some ways to counteract this feeling of disconnectedness in the face of fear? In Getting Rid of Squirrel-Brain: How to Work Smarter Not Harder<\/a><\/span>, <\/em>Yellow Parachute discusses the Theory of the One Thing. Basically, when you feel like a nut, focus! <\/em>Instead of scrambling from here to there trying to get a hundred things done at once, stop and focus on one thing. Do that one thing well, and then move on.<\/p>\n