What’s an Amygdala?

So we had at least 3 starting off times this am meaning this: A ruck group left at 0600. A running group left at 0630. Another running group left at 0635. A rucker stopped at 0655 and the other ruckers continued until 0715. A different rucker did step ups for the upcoming Chad 1000X (thank GOD it’s almost here!!!!) along with some rucking. A running group got in at 0715. And finally another running group of 1 got in at 0717. It was good to see a descent crowd this am including a final group (of 1 on IR for stage 4 sandy vaginitis) arrive at 0725 for COT and Q Source. Everyone did some work this am which is the point-You vs. You.

Next was COT then Q Source-I was notified Saturday by Stroganoff that I had Q Source this am. I should have known but did not so the reminder was helpful. I’ve got a few ideas in the hopper so it was not really a big deal to find out late, the biggest problem was picking which one. I’ve got a somewhat strange idea I will probably pull out later but today was not the day. I saw a post by Art of Manliness that seemed like a good one so we went with that. It’s called “How to Give and Take Criticism like a Man.” This, like so many things in F3, would have helped me a few decades ago assuming I would have listened……which is another topic altogether I guess. Keep in mind this was directed at helping with criticism which is very different from MUMBLECHATTER…..also referred to as constructive criticism by some but again, very different from what this post was about in my opinion.

During the discussion we talked about anatomical reasons for not responding well to criticism (insert amygdala discussion here-suffice it to say, I believe I have a VERY LARGE amygdala, my wife may not agree but what does she know and who has the title of SCA?????). We also talked about the MANY ways that I have screwed this up in the past year or 2…..but I am working on it and getting a little better each time. On the receiving criticism part, the 2 that struck home with me are 1-shut your trap and listen and 2-don’t take it personally. Both of these are tough for me. Keeping quiet for long enough to have a reasonable response I think is where I go wrong over and over. If I am honest, I suspect ego plays at least a (tiny) role here too. That’s another tough one for me.

We all actually contributed a lot to this discussion which was great. It’s funny how similar we are and the common threads we seem to repeat as far as mistakes or lessons we have learned. It is times like these that I wish I had found F3 when I was in my 20’s or even in my 30’s. Had I listened, I really think I would be a different person than I am today. But then again, I am not really sure I would have listened if F3 found me when I was in my 20’s. I guess I should just be thankful that I am part of this group.

By the time we finished, we had also talked about Neuroticism, Ben Franklin quotes, and Eroticism. I am going up to get a dictionary and thesaurus from upstairs so I can look up some of these things.

Thanks for hanging around for Q Source. I enjoyed that a lot more than doing my step ups. Don’t forget about Chad 1000X this Thursday at 0500 at the Bulldog AO. As Roscoe reminded us, you can partner with someone or scale it down with less weight if you want. I’ve got some Jocko stuff he donated for those who are there so come check it out if you can.

Whoopee