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Writer's pictureAlexa

Three brain modes and how to use them

Updated: 6 days ago

There is a model that describes how our brains work that describes three systems; drive, threat and soothe. This model is used in many areas from management of mantal health conditions to increasing performance at work. In this blog post I'm going to talk about how we might use it for running and sports performance.


The drive system is what motivates us to get things done. It would have got us up and searching for food, building shelter and growing our families etc. These days it motivates us to be good at our jobs, to improve our health of performance in sport, to get stuff done and make progress.


The threat system is how we react to dangers. So again going back in time examples would be predators, dangerous situations and things/people that were threatening us or our families. It looks for threats all the time and then primes us to respond to them (fight/flight/freeze). So in the 21st Century it can also be linked to stress, abuse, challenging behaviour from others, or fear of failure, for example.


The soothe system is how we look after ourselves and others. Self care, building positive relationships with others, and managing our own fears, worries and other emotions.


A balance of all three systems and an ability to recognise which we are in and how and when to move to other systems is really useful across most (if not all!) aspects of life!


In sport and running we also need to balance these systems. A runner using fear of failure (threat system) as a driver for a race performance won't get as much out of themselves on race day compared to if they used the more motivational or positive drivers from the drive system.


A runner in threat system for more of the time throughout each day and week due to life pressures or issues won't be able to recovery as fast as to maximise recovery we need to be in the soothe system. We tend to spend more time in "threat" in modern society so spending time working out how to spot when you are in that system and how to move yourself to soothe or drive when required is a really useful skill.


It might be that you notice the tension in your shoulders, an elevated heart rate when at rest, a snappy response to a colleague or family member. You can then perhaps focus on taking a pause, to go and make a hot drink, or spend a few minutes alone resetting with a breathing exercise or a quick walk outside to move more towards the soothe system. Or it might be before a race as your nerves build and the brain starts listing what could go wrong you could deliberately think about things you will enjoy at the race, how strong you feel or what could go right - putting yourself into Drive mode.


For a deeper read on how this system can be used to help your running take a look at Brave Athlete by Dr. Simon Marshall and Lesley Paterson.



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