“Why on earth did I do that?!”

The regrets are real! We've all binge watched Netflix until 3am - and then felt super tired. Or said ‘yes’ to dinner with the in-laws - and then actually had to go. We can even find ourselves yelling at our children - and then have to look into their sad, puppy eyes. Why?!

It's because emotions hijack our minds. When our emotions get the best of us, we often don’t even realize what we’re doing. In the heat of the moment, we just do things on “emotional autopilot.” But again: Why?! 

How evolution screwed us

Blame evolution! It came up with emotions to ‘keep us safe.’ 

Take fear for example: When our caveman ancestors ran into lions, they had to react immediately - or get eaten. There was no time to think.

So evolution invented fear. When our caveman ancestors felt that, they instinctively ran away - and lived another day. Yay! An emotion literally saved their lives.

But here’s the kicker: Today, we don’t have to anxiously run away from lions anymore (unless you’re a zookeeper, I guess?). But we still feel fear. It’s just that now it makes us anxiously run away from parties full of strangers.

Today, we also don’t have to angrily defend ourselves against other tribes anymore. But we still feel anger. Just that now it makes us snap at people who simply chew loudly next to us.

Sadly, our primal emotions never evolved with the times! Our brains still react in ways that were great for life in the Savannah. But today, those strong, unhinged emotions often lead to regrets.

How we can update our brains

Luckily, we don’t have to be at the mercy of our emotions! We can learn to use emotions to our advantage. Sure, human brains haven’t got an upgrade for 100,000 years. But today, we can update them ourselves!

Because today we have a secret weapon: our smartphones! Yes, those devices - that so far have mostly fueled our insecurities, frustration, and procrastination - can now help us be our best!

While self-help books, motivational quotes, and TED talks just went in one ear and out the other, new apps can finally help us take real action and effectively rewire our brains! 

Millions already learn Spanish with Duolingo. Now thousands use the Ahead app (shameless self-promotion!) to boost their emotional intelligence.

Apps don’t just tell us what helped “most people” but understand what exactly we need. They are so fun, we keep going until we actually see success. 

Most importantly, apps are around whenever challenging emotions bubble up - they’re our pocket coach whatever the situation!

Ready to make your emotions empowering instead of overpowering? What regrets do you want to make a thing of the past? No more “Why did I do that?!”