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We see the intense forms—rage, terror, and despair—in quadrant IV, where the combustible combination of high arousal and high cortisol is present. The less intense forms of the three negative emotions—including resentment, frustration, vigilance, apprehension, and boredom—are found in quadrant III. We slide into quadrant III when our thoughts become negative. Think of things that generally irritate you: unproductive meetings, emails admonishing you to do something with twenty-five people copied, someone popping in to chat while you’re right in the middle of a complex spreadsheet, or the person at the checkout lane who still writes checks.

All of us innately understand that our success ultimately relies on the three-pound gelatinous grayish-white blob in our head, but too often we fail to see just how much biology matters in the output of our lives. But the more we know about our biology, the more in control we can be—which is why we’re starting with this chapter, a brief primer on the master of human biology: the brain. Ninety percent of what we know about the brain we’ve learned in the past twenty years, and we still have only nicked the surface.

EI allows individuals to navigate the day-to-day difficulties and obstacles of life, manage their own emotions, and bring about appropriate emotions in others, all in an effort to be successful. 6, 7 ACTIVATION • Think about a recent circumstance when your response to a situation was not exactly what you intended. You might have been tired, under pressure, or overwhelmed by your workload. • Reimagine the situation with your human brain—the PFC, the C system—running the interaction. What if you had taken just a few moments before responding to allow the human brain to take control?