A time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace. Ecclesiastes 3:8
We all have Miggy Moments.
Miggy Moments occur when the small reptilian part of the brain takes control and causes us to do embarrassing or illegal actions. Drunken brawls, canceled weddings, and shouting at your neighbor are Miggy Moments.
Scientists believe the first part of the brain to develop was the fight-or-flight “amygdala” and the more logical part, evolutionized over billions of years later, is the calm “prefrontal cortex.”
Think reptilian for the “amygdala” and Albert Einstein for the “prefrontal cortex.” Or just consider all scientists to be half-brained nitwits.
During extreme situations, like waiting too long in the morning car queue for Starbucks Italian Roast, Albert Einstein falls asleep, allowing our reptilian brain to evolve into a crocodile.
Do not fool with a Miggy Moment.
Alert! Researchers have proven that most Miggy Moments occur on long car trips. Since the entire known universe is vacation deprived because of COVID, billions if not trillions of car trips are planned for this summer.
Meaning long lines at Starbucks, Albert Einstein taking too many naps, and a historic infestation of crocodiles roaming beaches and the aisles at Kroger.
Stay home! Or read Unwinding Anxiety by Judson Brewer in preparation for summer trips. Judson says:
At times when your mind starts to spin out in your worry du jour, you can pause and take a deep breath while you wait for your Prefrontal Cortex to come back online.
In his book, Brewer reminds us several times that he is both an MD and Ph.D., and able to constructively teach us how to break “Miggy Moment Cycles.” He doesn’t call them “Miggy Moment Cycles” but “Habit Loops.”
I am telling you right now that they are the same thing.
Miggy Moments get repetitive until you can’t take a vacation from them. Anything can trigger a Miggy but if you don’t stop them, they become habits of looping cycles of fear and outbursts that terrorize and destroy.
Brewer comments:
There are two main downsides to worry. First, if the worrying mind doesn’t come up with a solution, worry triggers anxiety, which triggers more worry, and so on. Second, if worry is triggered by anxiety alone, there might not be something specific to worry about. That’s often what my patients describe: they simply wake up in the morning, and without any provocation or some specific event that day or in the future to worry about, they’re anxious.
The long lines at Starbucks, with Albert Einstein sleeping, releasing crocodiles into the back seat of your car, where they disturb your kids or, at the very least, cause an argument with your spouse.
Where are you going on vacation this summer?
Can you stop the Miggy? What should you do? Is it possible to drive 500 miles in one day without crocodiles in the back seat?
Awareness, confession, repentance, prayer, and grace!
Read more about Miggy Moments in Interruptions #214, #215, #234, and #255!