{"id":102574,"date":"2023-05-31T14:39:28","date_gmt":"2023-05-31T18:39:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=102574"},"modified":"2023-06-01T14:42:00","modified_gmt":"2023-06-01T18:42:00","slug":"positive-intelligence-saboteur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/positive-intelligence-saboteur\/","title":{"rendered":"Positive Intelligence: Saboteurs & How They Affect You"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What are the 10 Positive Intelligence<\/em> Saboteurs? Which ones are causing you stress?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Positive Intelligence<\/em>, Shirzad Chamine explains that our mental antagonists, known as Saboteurs, are survival mechanisms that hinder our happiness and success<\/a> in adulthood. He explains that our Saboteurs are driven by our survival brain, which exaggerates threats and causes stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read on to learn how Shirzad Chamine explains Saboteurs in his book Positive Intelligence<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Positive Intelligence<\/em>: Saboteurs Explained<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to Shirzad Chamine’s book Positive Intelligence<\/em>, “Saboteurs” are our mental antagonists or harmful thought processes in adulthood. He claims that all stress comes from harmful thought processes that interfere with our ability to behave and reason rationally. <\/strong>These thought processes developed as survival mechanisms, but in adulthood, they hinder our happiness and success in every aspect of our lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Positive Intelligence<\/em>, Chamine claims that our brains can either work against us (i.e., our Saboteurs) or for us in promoting our happiness and success. When it works against us, it\u2019s because the part of our brains that developed for pure survival is in charge. This part of the brain is responsible for keeping us safe from dangers to our well-being during childhood by helping us identify and avoid threats. For example, a bad grade is a threat to our academic well-being, so our survival brain might push us to study intensely to avoid that threat. However, when we become adults, the survival brain does more harm than good: It continues to exaggerate threats and push us into states of high stress over things we can overcome if we use the other part of our brain, the one that developed to help us thrive<\/em> instead of just survive<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Some experts distinguish the \u201csurvival brain\u201d from the \u201clearning brain.\u201d<\/a> They note that when your brain is in survival mode, you\u2019re unable to focus on anything except perceived threats. People who\u2019ve experienced trauma are likely to spend more time in the brain\u2019s survival mode, and the more time spent in that mode, the harder it becomes to switch to learning mode. While Chamine suggests that being in survival mode during childhood is often beneficial, children can also suffer from spending too much time in survival mode because it makes it difficult to learn and thrive even in childhood. To help children enter learning mode, it\u2019s important to give them a strong support system with healthy attachments<\/a> to adults.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Positive Intelligence<\/em>, Chamine argues that our Saboteurs represent the tendencies our brains have to cope with stress in various unhealthy ways<\/strong> because our brain tells us that they\u2019re the only ways to survive that stress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Chamine\u2019s description of Saboteurs in Positive Intelligence<\/em> matches closely with the definition of cognitive distortions<\/em><\/a>. Cognitive distortions are inaccurate or irrational thoughts that usually come from gut instincts and that negatively affect the way we think. In contrast to the techniques advised by Chamine, some experts recommend cognitive behavioral therapy for dealing with cognitive distortions. In the notes below, we will address some of the cognitive distortions that may fuel the Saboteurs Chamine discusses.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chamine adds the caveat that there are a few types of stress<\/a> that are healthy: 1) the distress of mourning a loss and 2) the immediate, temporary distress that accompanies a negative event. This stress signals to you that the event could be damaging and that you need to do something to prevent further harm\u2014like how the physical pain of using an injured limb signals you to stop using it to avoid further damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Chamine\u2019s caveats don\u2019t address how we react to ongoing<\/em> negative events, but research suggests that the stress from such events\u2014such as the Covid-19 pandemic\u2014keeps us in survival mode for long periods of time<\/a>. This is because we are continuously dealing with an active threat, so surviving the threat in the short term doesn\u2019t make our survival response turn off. This ongoing stress response<\/a> can continue to keep us safe, but it has negative long-term effects on our health. To better cope with this type of event, we may have to be more accepting of stress and understand that it may take a long time for it to fade.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chamine explains in Positive Intelligence<\/em> that there are a total of 10 Saboteurs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n